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The Hornets are back

The Charlotte Bobcats officially became the Charlotte Hornets once again Tuesday. That includes Hornets’ history from 1988-2002 returning to Charlotte. The rebranding will continue throughout the summer, but the announced change became official with tonight’s NBA Draft Lottery.

Click after the jump for some quotes from Hornets brass and when the jerseys and courts will be unveiled.

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Spurs balance defeats Thunder’s duo

Oklahoma City is all Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook at this point. The Spurs? They can have players take turn with the scoring load. It can be Tim Duncan one moment. Then Tony Parker the next. Then Kawhi Leonard took over. Then that killer bench.

The Thunder are down Serge Ibaka and need everyone to pull together. Oklahoma City is still figuring that part out. Now does not seem to be the time to be doing that — it is the Western Conference, after all.

The Spurs were up big, lost the lead and then went up big again for a 122-105 Game One win.

Tim Duncan scored 27 points. Manu Ginobili had 18 points off the bench. Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green each scored 16 points.

Oklahoma City got a consistent 28 points from Kevin Durant and 25 from Russell Westbrook. It was contributions from everyone else that was the problem. Reggie Jackson had 13 points and Derek Fisher had 16 points. No one else seemed to be able to do much else.

When Durant and Westbrook took over in the third quarter and helped Oklahoma City get back into the game and take the lead. Then the Spurs ramped things up again and opened the lead back out. It was clinical as the Spurs usually are.

The Thunder will have to figure things out for Game Two. Not only figuring out how to keep the Spurs out of the paint — 66-32 advantage in points in the paint for the Spurs — but also figuring out how to get others involved and ease the pressure off Durant and Westbrook.

Photo by Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Let the Nets rumors begin

The Nets had a payroll this year of $102,825,181. That is a lot of luxury tax — nearly doubling the amount the team paid to the players and the league. With that kind of a payroll comes outsized expectations — championship expectations. You do not spend that kind of money without expecting to win a […]

5 Keys To The Western Conference Finals

The Miami Heat might be the reigning NBA champions, but for one thing, they’re in big trouble. Moreover, the winner of the Western Conference Finals is likely to be favored to win this season’s NBA title. Once again, TNT gets the better conference final series, which should make basketball viewers happy. What should one look […]

Pacers play their best against the Heat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duKGWUmQMRQ

The Heat bring out the best in the Pacers. Maybe they have all along.

It took this matchup against their hated rivals to bring the Pacers back to reality. For the first time all Playoffs, the Pacers were the dominant defensive team, bullying their way into the paint and moving the ball with speed and purpose. They kept the Heat on the perimeter, despite seeing the pace picked up to a level the Heat probably liked.

All five Pacers starters scored in double figures. Paul George scored 24 points and dished out seven assists. Roy Hibbert and David West each had 19 points. They beat the Heat up inside. Indiana had 23 assists on 35 field goal attempts. The Pacers made 29 of 37 free throws, attacking and getting to the line against the Heat’s defense.

They also hit eight of 19 3-pointers.

The Heat seemed to have all the opposite problems. They settled for mid-range jumpers, were unable to get out on the break or crack the Pacers’ defense. They were passive and let Indiana dictate everything.

Sure LeBron James and Dwyane Wade got their numbers. James scored 25 points to go with 10 rebounds, shooting 11 for 18 from the floor. Wade had 27 points on 12-for-18 shooting. Miami even shot 51.3 percent from the floor. Chris Andersen even scored 14 points.

But Miami just never could get back into the game. The stops were never there. They brought Indiana’s double digit deficit to eight points once and it was all Pacers. Trading baskets was not going to be enough.

Indiana had the right motivation and the right energy to win one game. They need three more to accomplish their big goals from the whole season. It is still out there, despite it all.

With David West now nursing an injury, the Pacers need more from Roy Hibbert. Photo by Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports

5 Keys to the Heat-Pacers Eastern Conference Finals

Well, here we are again. The long road to the conference finals has brought us the two teams we thought we would see anywhere. It was not easy for the Pacers, that is for sure, but they got everything they wanted. Home court against the Heat in the conference finals. Last year’s seven-game classic seems […]

CC Video of the Day: NBA – ‘Game of Thrones’ Style

For all you NBA and “Game of Thrones” fans, this one is for you.

Called “Game of Zones,” this creative take on the NBA gives you a cocky Pat Riley talking with LeBron James about the rising Wizards team, Kevin Love not happy being in Minnesota, and OKC’s Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant preparing for the zombie-like San Antonio Spurs coming back for another shot at the title.

Check it out (h/t Project Spurs).

Serge Ibaka out for Playoffs

Ibaka suffered a calf injury during the Thunder’s Game Six win over the Clippers on Thursday. He left the game in the second half and did not return. Obviously it turned out to be pretty serious.

“We are obviously disappointed for Serge, as he is a tremendous competitor, and we know how badly he wants to be on the court with his teammates,” said Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti in a release. “At this point it is important that our team directs its concentration and energy towards preparation and execution for our upcoming series. As with all teams, our group has confronted different challenges. It is our collective experience that we will call on to ensure that we play to our capabilities.”

The Thunder, of course, had to overcome Russell Westbrook’s knee injury last year. It kept them from advancing to the Conference Finals last year. It will be a tougher task now to defeat the top-seeded Spurs without their third-best scorer.

Photo by David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

Being patient with Otto Porter

Without going to Wikipedia, can you name the highest pick remaining in this year’s NBA Playoffs? Anthony Bennett and Victor Oladipo, the top two picks, are long eliminated. Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams was the 11th pick. This past year’s Draft was not the strongest in the world. Not by a long shot. The […]

Thunder storm past Clippers, into Conference Finals

The Clippers had their chance. They really did.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were struggling to put the ball in the basket and Los Angeles had control of the game and the pace, taking the lead. It was just never big enough. Durant and Westbrook are not going to stay down too long. An 8-12 point lead was not going to be enough with the eventuality Durant and Westbrook would make their shots.

The onslaught came, the Clippers could not stop it. And now they are headed home into the uncertainty of the offseason and their franchise situation.

There was bitter disappointment that things did not end better for the Clippers. For the Thunder, there was the confidence that Durant and Westbrook can save them from just about anything. That they can grind their way through a game until that point when their two stars can take over.

Durant recovered from a slow first quarter start to score 39 points. Russell Westbrook had 19 points on 4-for-13 shooting, but dished out 12 assists, helping keep the offense going even while he was struggling to make plays for himself.

Oklahoma City got big support from some role players too. Steven Adams was active around the basket and Reggie Jackson had his best game of the series off the bench.

The Clippers got great efforts from Chris Paul (25 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds), Blake Griffin (22 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists) and J.J. Redick (16 points, 7/17 FGs). But they needed a bit more to keep distance from the Thunder. When their shots stopped falling, the Thunder came back and in a big way.

See you next year, L.A.

Rugged Pacers move on to Eastern Conference Finals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2O6AAkLoRY

The Pacers are where they were supposed to be all along. In the Eastern Conference Finals, with homecourt advantage, against the Heat.

It was not easy. It was a long and winding road to get there. But here they are.

On the back of David West, a rock offensively this postseason who has found the big shots when his team needed a big offensive performance desperately. He scored 29 points as the Pacers used a 20-6 run to put the Wizards away and finish off their second round series with a 93-80 win at Verizon Center.

Washington rallied from a double-digit deficit and took the lead behind a Bradley Beal 3-pointer. John Wall used his blinding speed to get out in the open court as the Wizards were finally able to push the pace. Indiana lost control over the game.

West calmed the Pacers down. That is what he has done time and time again. He hit jumpers and got post ups to go around the basket.

The Wizards began pressing and the shots stopped falling. That momentary lead was gone in a hurry and the Pacers finished things off.

Lance Stephenson woke up from his season-long slumber to support West, scoring 17 points. That is just in time too with the Heat coming up.

Marcin Gortat scored 19 points as Wall and Beal struggled from the floor. Washington had the effort and nearly got it. But experience and poise won the day for Indiana. Now the Pacers get exactly what they have wanted all year.

Photo by Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Heat and Lakers are clearly America’s teams

If you go almost anywhere these days, you are going to find Lakers and Heat fans. The Lakers have long had a national fan base and, by virtue of being the best team, the Heat attract people who enjoy success without the difficulties of trouble — ask yourself if you remember Harold Miner, Heat fans. […]

Pistons revamp franchise by hiring Stan Van Gundy

The Golden State Warriors, who recently fired head coach Mark Jackson after a first round playoff defeat to the Clippers, were reportedly on the verge of hiring former Heat and Magic coach Stan Van Gundy before a disagreement over how much say he would get in basketball operations. Van Gundy wanted full control of the […]

Fair Play With Replay In The NBA

Some things about organized sports seem to be so easy to see; adjust to; and implement. Yet, smart reforms are frequently ignored by the governing bodies of these sports or the commissioners who wield considerable power over them. It gets to be more than a little exasperating… for fans, journalists, pundits, and most of all, […]

Spurs dispose of Blazers

In the end, this was not much of a game. Or a much of a series really.

Portland was not really in the same league as San Antonio. Not with the way the Spurs were able to focus in, choke off the Blazers’ potent offense and score at will. Or even not score at will. The Spurs had a stretch in their 104-82 series clincher where they could not get a field goal. And yet their lead was hardly threatened.

The Blazers scored 38 points in the second half, falling deeper into the pit of the Spurs trap.

Even with Tony Parker leaving the game in the second quarter with a strained hamstring. The Spurs insist he would have been ready had there been a Game Six. No need for that anymore.

Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green each had 22 points. Leonard went into his beast mode with a foray of fast break runs toward the rim and dunks. Patty Mills scored 18 points in Parker’s stead.

LaMarcus Aldridge completed a strong postseason with 21 points and Damian Lillard had 17 points. The Blazers though scored only eight points off the bench. A problem Portland will have to remedy this offseason.

The Spurs though can rest a bit before the Western Conference Finals begin next week.

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