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)

Golden State trails 2-1: What’s new and what’s not?

0 comments by 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 […]

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)

Following Game 3 blowout loss to Thunder, Warriors suddenly staring into abyss

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The Golden State Warriors are staring into the abyss. Maybe that’s a little strong, but that’s how it feels the morning after one of the most dramatic thumpings any team has absorbed in NBA playoff history. Don’t be fooled by the 28-point margin the Oklahoma City Thunder enjoyed when the buzzer sounded at the end […]

The Thunder, so close to escaping the darkness, try to handle prosperity

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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 […]

The 2016 West playoffs, and the reality of rhythm-free results

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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 […]

Watch: Dion Waiters sets Serge Ibaka up for big dunk

0 comments by on 5/22/2016

Check out this play as Dion Waiters draws the defense and feeds a wide open Serge Ibaka for a big-time dunk in game three of Oklahoma City’s series with Golden State…. Waiters draws the defenders and delivers the pretty pass to Ibaka for the dunk!

The Raptors exhibited meaningful desperation in Game 3

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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 […]

Watch: Cory Joseph nails third quarter buzzer beater

0 comments by on 5/21/2016

Toronto Raptors guard Cory Joseph nailed this buzzer beater at the end of the third quarter to give his team a 10 point lead heading into the final quarter of game three against the Cleveland Cavaliers….. Cory Joseph beats the buzzer from downtown!

GSW-OKC Game 3: Golden State tries to slay a particular demon

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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 […]

The Strain: Why Game 3 looms large for the Thunder

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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 […]

Crossover Chronicles Podcast: Peter Vecsey

0 comments by on 5/20/2016

Before Woj, before Marc Stein, before Marc Spears, before any of the NBA national reporters we all follow on Twitter, there was Peter Vecsey. If you’re old enough to have watched the NBA in the 1990s, you remember him as the know-everything guy on NBC’s broadcasts. Vecsey retired from the New York Post in 2011 […]

Cleveland’s compound advantage: not just rest, but rolling rest

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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 […]

A familiar debate is revived by the Eastern Conference playoffs

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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 […]

The 5 worst conference finals since the start of the Magic-Bird era

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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 […]

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