0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/19/2016
The Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors feels… oh, what’s an apt expression for the series right now… ah, I got it: up in the air. The series is as “up in the air” as Stephen Curry’s body is in the cover photo for this story. To be […]
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The arrival of Jeff Hornacek as the new head coach of the New York Knicks certainly qualifies as a surprise relative to expectations… and hopes. Any Knicks fan who had become resigned to the idea that Kurt Rambis would be the permanent head coach in New York is happy in the wake of this development. […]
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Forget, for a moment, the merits of Phil Jackson’s decision to hire Jeff Hornacek as the next coach of the New York Knicks — we’ll address that topic in a separate standalone piece. One aspect of this story which is fascinating to contemplate is that two men from different generations both rose to prominence at […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/17/2016
It will be a relevant tension point as long as basketball is played: good shot-bad shot. What’s a good look at the basket, and what’s not? The Golden State Warriors, now down 1-0 in the Western Conference Finals to the Oklahoma City Thunder, know they gave away too many possessions with turnovers (some of them […]
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Steven Adams isn’t the best player on the floor in the Western Conference Finals between his Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors. He might be the most important player, however. Monday night in Game 1, Adams picked up where he left off. The work he did to change and define the West semifinals […]
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If you thought the Western Conference semifinals between the OKC Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs would not carry over to the Western Conference Finals, Game 1 on Monday night in Oakland gave you reason to reconsider your position. A sluggish first half. A pre-halftime quarter (first or second) with at least 27 points allowed. […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/16/2016
Playing Portland — it could have been viewed as the easier path for the Golden State Warriors when the 2016 NBA Playoffs began. Yes, a date with the Trail Blazers ceased to be the easier path when Chris Paul and Blake Griffin both went down, but even then, the reigning NBA champions did not figure […]
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The Oklahoma City Thunder, should they lose to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals, would absorb another memorable disappointment. The franchise would have to face another stinging setback, a moment reminiscent of the 2012 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. Another failure against LeBron James — after rallying to defeat the San Antonio […]
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The 10-game upset is a term which isn’t firmly embedded in your mind. This marks the perfect time to internalize the term, and to begin to absorb a specific part of NBA postseason history. The 10-game upset is something the Oklahoma City Thunder have already achieved in 2016, and will try to replicate in this upcoming […]
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The Miami Heat died honorably on Sunday in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat pushed up the hill as long as they could. Having trailed by 17 points midway through the third quarter, they sliced their deficit to six in the early stages of the fourth quarter. They were right there, somehow […]
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The Toronto Raptors spent much of the past month — much of two fortnight-long series against the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat — fumbling, bumbling and stumbling. They watched DeMar DeRozan shoot them out of games in their losses, and into more precarious positions in their wins. The erosion of DeRozan’s game, relative to the […]
REUTERS/Brent Smith (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/14/2016
Game 7 of a messy, cluttered Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors doesn’t merely give every player a last chance to get it right. Game 7 offers one more opportunity to each head coach, one more chance to leave a positive imprint on this series after six erratic games over […]
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The words “Game 7” might not stir the soul on Sunday afternoon in Canada as much as they ordinarily would in a second-round NBA playoff series, but the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors won’t care. They shouldn’t. The reality of sports contains an always-present disclaimer: An event might not live up to the hype or […]
SAN ANTONIO, TX – MAY 21: Tim Duncan #21 of the San Antonio Spurs before the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Two of the Western Conference Finals during the 2014 NBA Playoffs on May 21, 2014 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Copyright 2014 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/13/2016
It is easy — very easy — to think or say that any argument advocating Tim Duncan’s return for another NBA season is selfish and emotional. That’s undeniable and inescapable. When a giant of a sport comes closer to the end of a decorated career — a two-decade-long journey which established a remarkably elevated standard […]
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The Spurs lost because they’re old. The Spurs are done. The Spurs couldn’t match the athleticism of the Oklahoma City Thunder. All of those statements have been uttered before. The first two have already been refuted multiple times. The third is reasonable and fundamentally accurate, but it still doesn’t tell the whole story of another […]
