TNT is trolling the Madison Square Garden fans, and Reggie Miller v. the New York Knicks has a new chapter.
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TNT is trolling the Madison Square Garden fans, and Reggie Miller v. the New York Knicks has a new chapter.
NBA Playoffs throwback: Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks, 1999, Eastern Conference finals
Larry Johnson’s famous 4-point play gives the Knicks a one point victory over Indiana. The Knicks go on to win the series in 6 games before losing to San Antonio in the NBA Finals.
The rivalry renews Sunday at 3:30pm ET on ABC.
NBA Playoffs throwback: Atlanta Hawks vs. Indiana Pacers, 1994, Game 6, Eastern Conference semifinals.
Indiana upsets the #1 seeded Hawks to earn a trip to “the final four of professional basketball” as the terribly excited announcer puts it. MY GAWD, remember when Indiana games used to sound like this? Like the huge explosion at minute 4:23 after a Reggie Miller three. The Pacers would go on to lose to the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.
The matchup begins today in Indiana at 1pm EST on TNT.
Indiana Pacers vs Atlanta Hawks
Game 1 - Sun April 21, Atlanta at Indiana, 1 p.m., TNT
Game 2 - Wed April 24, Atlanta at Indiana, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV
Game 3 - Sat April 27, Indiana at Atlanta, 7 p.m., ESPN
Game 4 - Mon April 29, Indiana at Atlanta, TBD, TBD
Game 5 - Wed May 1, Atlanta at Indiana, TBD, TBD
Game 6 - Fri May 3, Indiana at Atlanta, TBD, TBD
Game 7 - Sun May 5, Atlanta at Indiana, TBD, TBD
This may be the most forgettable playoff series ever. And that’s really a shame, because both the Indiana Pacers and the Atlanta Hawks should (in theory) have a lot going for them.
The Pacers play ball that your granddad could be proud of – crashing the boards, playing gritty defense and eschewing star power for kids like Lance Stephenson and Jeff Pendergraph.
And the Hawks feature Josh Smith, one of the most electric players that everyone seems to forget about. They’re a perennial playoff team in a solid basketball city.
But both teams finished in the bottom six in attendance figures, reminding us that just sometimes, winning isn’t everything. The two teams combined to lose nine out of their last 12, stumbling into the playoffs with an air of tired complacency that will get you nowhere in the playoffs.
I think we’ll see this reflected in the games. Neither team has the firepower to make a title run this year (although the Pacers have proved they can matchup with the best) and I don’t see a passion in either team to make this THE year. You see Nate Robinson leading the Bulls and they really play like they’ve got something to lose – or the Nuggets who just look like they’re having fun. Those are the teams that surprise you in the end.
And I just don’t see it here. This won’t make for exciting basketball – so I think these games are destined for low intrigue and lower ratings.
As far as the actual matchup goes, it’s really the Pacers’ to lose. They’ve got enough firepower (assuming Paul George is healthy enough) to consistently put up points, and their defense is rock solid. If the Hawks can maintain high percentages (which I don’t think they will), there’s a chance for an upset here.
Roy Hibbert, post-Warriors kerfuffle. Maybe he thought Tom Haverford was trying to break up the fight?
Watch Stephenson break Tony Parker’s ankles.
Thanks to Gerald Green, Sir Isaac Newton might have to rethink this whole “gravity” thing.
(Source: thegrandarchives)
The Pacers’ Gerald Green can’t find the remote. Nope. Not up there.
I enjoy David West, I really do, but you can slap a kid up even if you just lost.
I can’t wait until we make a really, really, big deal of this.
Pacers: Bird calls his team S-O-F-T | Pacers Insider | The Indianapolis Star | IndyStar.com
Larry Legend rips into his team after six lackluster quarters against the Heat.
Going into Sunday’s game, it seemed as if the Pacers had a bit of control in the series, but as soon as Dwyane Wade and LeBron James started cooking in the second half, the Pacers seemingly rolled over.
Now, does Bird want his team to become more physical in game six? After the flagrant foul fest in game five, the referees will call that game tighter than a Katy Perry jumpsuit.
LeBron James had the epic to end all other epic performances tonight, but Dwyane Wade also showed up and played through the pain. Wade had 30 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists tonight.
So, I guess, Wade played Robin to James’ Batman, eh, Skip Bayless?
(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Look at these Pacer fans.
In Case You Missed It Last Night….
David West yells at his teammates for celebrating a victory.
After the game last night, Dwyane Wade criticized Indiana for their “celebration”. Wade said:
“I saw [Indiana’s] little celebration at the end of that game. I don’t know if they didn’t expect to win. But every night we go out on the court, we expect to win. They stated their identity. They said they wanted to be like Dallas. So, they celebrated like Dallas, I guess.”
If you look at the game tape, the Pacers aren’t celebrating that much. David West is yelling at his teammates to stop, which they do and they leave the floor.
It’s a point that has been made countless times already yesterday and today, it’s really hard to take Wade seriously when he complains about other teams celebrating. I’m sure we’ve all seen the Heat’s celebration party following the signing of LeBron James and Chris Bosh two summers ago. Didn’t they say they’re going to win 8 championships?
(by NBAClipz)
Here’s the reality: LeBron missed the free throws, Wade missed the layup.
But at the end of the day, they combined for 52 of the HEAT’s 75 points. LeBron had to play 43 minutes, a lot of it playing out of position at the 4/5 and still put up 28 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals.
Did I mention that Bosh missed this game? Because that’s important.
When Miami signed their own Big 3, the theory was that LeBron can play the MVP role and Wade could fill the second scorer. Bosh would be key to their championship equation as he would be the filler. He’d have to play at a constant level to always make sure that Miami’s dynamic duo got enough help to secure wins.
Bosh doesn’t always have to play well, his usual 18 and 8 would normally do the job. Sometimes, he’d have to play like an All-Star, which he’s perfectly capable of. But at the end of the day, he just needs to make up the difference between what the stars put up and what the role players don’t.
Right now, Miami’s bench is terrible.
That’s why they miss Bosh right now. More than ever. Outside of Wade and LeBron, the rest of the team is struggling, tonight they made 17 of 61 shots. 17. Miami had 11 assists, Wade and LeBron had 9 of them. Miami had 40 rebounds, 15 of which were credited to LeBron and Wade. Of the 14 offensive rebounds, 7 of them were grabbed by, you guessed it, LeBron and Wade.
The problem here isn’t LeBron missing clutch free throws, Wade missing a crucial layup or LeBron not waving off teammates and driving. Those things happen. The problem here is that Miami has no one else to trust with ball. They are two players deep right now.
While everyone else is searching for someone to blame, Wade and LeBron are searching for someone to pass to. Not sure who it will be, but they don’t have many games left to figure it out.
