0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/5/2016
The NBA playoffs are nothing if not a two-month seminar on the importance of having extra options at the offensive end of the floor. The NBA playoffs, one could say, are a uniquely American creature because they magnify the blessing this country has afforded to many of its citizens over time: the ability to take […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/4/2016
Kyle Lowry’s shooting stroke is a huge problem for the Toronto Raptors… well, unless we’re talking about halfcourt shots: Despite any public claims — from Lowry or anyone else — that his elbow injury is not affecting his shooting stroke, the numbers don’t lie in this instance. An established pattern is too entrenched to ignore […]
0 comments by Kevin Causey on 5/3/2016
Check out this alley-oop from Dwyane Wade to Hassan Whiteside in the first half of game one of the Miami Heat playoff series with the Toronto Raptors….. Wade to Whiteside for the BOOM on TNT!
0 comments by Jovan Alford
In basketball, college or pro, we’ve all hear the saying good guard play wins games in the postseason. Sunday afternoon, in a win-or-go-home situation, that saying held true as the Miami Heat took the sting out of the Charlotte Hornets, 106-73. Miami point guard Goran Dragic left his mark on the game by playing with […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/1/2016
The Heat was on… and the Hornets were turned off. The Miami Heat profoundly struggled with the Charlotte Hornets over the past four games of their Eastern Conference first-round series, but when Dwyane Wade saved them in Game 6 on Friday night, a week of frustration gave way to a different mood and attitude. This […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 4/30/2016
Dwyane Wade, like former teammate LeBron James, was made for one of the most underrated crucibles in all of sports. Most sports fans and analysts pay close attention to Game 7s, those moments when a long series reaches the ultimate crescendo. Yes, Game 7s are almost always special, and they certainly reveal what exists inside […]
Apr 17, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat forward Justise Winslow (L) talks to Heat guard Josh Richardson (R) during the second half in game one of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Charlotte Hornets at American Airlines Arena. The Heat won 123-91. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 4/28/2016
The Miami Heat’s 2016 season is not over, but it seems reasonable to say — even now, before an elimination game Friday night against the Charlotte Hornets — that Miami’s presence as a threat to the Cleveland Cavaliers has been oversold. Game 5 of the Heat’s Eastern Conference first-round series on Wednesday night illustrated the […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
Courtney Lee is a rebounder — and not principally in the sense of being a player who grabs missed shots. Yes, Lee’s rebounds at the end of Games 4 and 5 have put the Charlotte Hornets in position to eliminate the Miami Heat this Friday in North Carolina, but the story of Courtney Lee’s rebounding […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 4/24/2016
We’ve played at least three games in all four Eastern Conference playoff series, making our way through this spread-out first week of the postseason. Should anything we’ve seen this week truly surprise us? If we are surprised, it says more about us and our expectations than these teams and their players. Truly, nothing from any […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
After Game 2 of his first-round Eastern Conference playoff series against the Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornet coach Steve Clifford had a lot to say. Looking back on that statement, it’s very hard to contest the essential truths of Clifford’s points. Charlotte scored 16 more points than the ice-cold Heat, frolicking to victory on a day […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 4/21/2016
The Miami Heat have been the best team in the NBA over the past five days, in which all 16 playoff teams have played two games. You saw that coming during the regular season, didn’t you? If you say yes, you are either a family member of someone in the Heat organization… or you’re a […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
You could choose to view Steve Clifford in a negative light after Game 2 of the Eastern Conference first-round series between his Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Heat. More precisely, you could choose to negatively view both the quality of Clifford’s coaching, since his team is getting smoked. You could also choose to perceive Clifford’s […]
0 comments by Kevin Causey on 4/20/2016
Dwyane Wade hits Hassan Whiteside for an alley-oop in the second game in their first round series against Charlotte….
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 4/15/2016
A word about expectations is merited before the playoffs begin. A word within a word: Let’s divide expectations into two parts… at least in some instances. Fans and pundits will have their own expectations, while teams will internally carry their separate sets of standards. Naturally, everyone wants to win it all, but only one team […]
0 comments by Sean Woodley on 4/1/2016
Not all rookies can be Karl-Anthony Towns, or Kristaps Porzingis, or Justise Winslow, or Willie Cauley-Stein… …or D’Angelo Russell, or Devon Booker, or Myles Turner (damn, this draft class rules). Despite some outstanding first-year performances this season, the reality when it comes to rookies is that they just don’t typically affect winning or improve their […]
