0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/2/2015
Life is full of surprises. As the NBA playoffs move into the second round (with Game 7 between the Spurs and Clippers about to tip off at press time), we are confronted with a situation that is not necessarily an unassailable, airtight fact, but certainly hard to refute on a few basic levels: The Eastern […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
Bull Durham brought us “the church of baseball,” but if you worship at the church of basketball, there’s no more fascinating second-round NBA playoff series than the one which is about to commence in Atlanta on Sunday. When the Washington Wizards meet the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Association […]
0 comments by Bryan Gibberman on 5/1/2015
The second round of the Western Conference playoffs begins on Sunday. Get excited! Uhhhh no, probably don’t get too excited. The Golden State Warriors versus the Memphis Grizzlies seemed like an interesting Western Conference semifinal matchup on paper earlier in the year. There was a time during the regular season when, if you told me […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
The worst shot in basketball is the shot just inside the three-point arc. Everyone knows this. Everyone agrees upon this. A few feet closer to the basket still makes for a relatively long jumper without the additional point. Therefore, a 19-foot jumper at the professional level and a 17-foot jumper at the collegiate level represent […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 4/30/2015
The most essential difference between coaching in the pros and coaching in college is — and always has been — a very simple one: The colleges are a coach’s game, while the pros are about the players. As great as Gregg Popovich and Phil Jackson might be — and they’re both as good as we’ve […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
On Wednesday, the day after “The Tweet Heard ‘Round The NBA,” I did not think I’d need to write a straightforward news article about emojis. I also did not think I’d need to write a follow-up commentary about emojis. Then the Houston Rockets decided to fire
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 25: Head coach Mike Budenholzer of the Atlanta Hawks looks on during the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on April 25, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. 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 Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 4/29/2015
When a cycle repeats itself, the value of that process of repetition isn’t inherently good or bad. What counts is the substance of what’s being repeated. In the 2015 NBA Playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs — though hardly home-free in their first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers — have already replayed one of their […]
0 comments by Bryan Gibberman
In an ironic twist, two players who spent part of the season with one of the worst teams in the NBA have arguably become the most important figures in a contender’s title hopes. With the Cleveland Cavaliers losing Kevin Love — most likely the rest of the playoffs — it’s going to fall on former […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
Earlier this month at Crossover Chronicles, staff writer Joseph Nardone wondered what the playoffs would look like if seeded 1 through 16, obliterating the artificial division imposed by conferences. Plenty of other bloggers and publications have pushed for a reworking of the NBA’s playoff format along these lines. A lot has also been written in […]
0 comments by Bryan Gibberman on 4/27/2015
The Washington Wizards didn’t make an adjustment in the first round of the NBA playoffs; they created an entirely new identity. During the regular season, all four of their lineups that saw over 100 minutes featured two big men in the group of Nene Hilario, Marcin Gortat, Kris Humphries, and Kevin Seraphin. Washington’s starting unit […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
If you were to ask 100 people in a room about the length of the NBA’s first-round playoff series, you’d get a reasonable number of responses advocating a return to the best-of-five format: Yes, it’s hard to deny that there’s something about the Kevin Love injury in a 3-0 series which makes it easy to […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
Every life is different. Some lives acquire a linear quality — they steadily march forward, not necessarily without blemishes or problems, but in ways that enable individuals to move from one place or challenge to the next. For others, life takes on a circular nature — specific details might change, but larger patterns remain the […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 4/26/2015
One can certainly look at the New Orleans Pelicans’ “sweeping” exit from the 2015 NBA Playoffs and conclude that head coach Monty Williams is not likely to lead this franchise to greater riches. However, there’s a difference between “not likely” and “certain,” and it’s this fundamental point which sits at the heart of the matter […]
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 25: Jeff Teague #0 of the Atlanta Hawks attempts to drive past Brook Lopez #11 of the Brooklyn Nets during the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs at Barclays Center on April 25, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. 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 Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 4/25/2015
The Atlanta Hawks stand at the center of several recognizable paths after three games in the 2015 NBA Playoffs. Whether that’s a good or bad thing for them? We don’t know… but we’ll soon begin to collect much more valuable and revealing information. The final two rounds of the NBA playoffs represent showcase events in which […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
A neat and tidy way to view the showcase first-round playoff series between the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs is that the Spurs enjoyed the benefit of the doubt. Tony Parker nowhere close to his best? Eh, big deal — the Spurs are still the Spurs. They’ll figure out a way. Tiago Splitter […]
