BOSTON — The Miami Heat might have to clear some space in Championship Alley. That’s the name of the path from your home court to the locker room that’s filled with wall-sized memorabilia of Miami’s past greatness. Gary Payton’s jump shot that started his return to the 2006 Finals. Blood trickling down Udonis Haslem’s face … Read more
Theo Pinson led the final postgame press conference of the season, sitting on the dais in the Chase Center visiting press area and asking questions. The fourth-year veteran, whose contagious positivity prompted Jason Kidd to describe him earlier this season as the team’s “MVP,” immediately made it clear that the Mavericks’ 120-110 loss late in … Read more
All odds are provided by Caesars Sportsbook. What you need to know for Game 6 If it’s not broken: While the Heat have been outmatched for most of this series, Bam Adebayo has been successful. In the first half of Game 3 and Game 5, Adebayo made 13 of 20 shots while the rest of … Read more
1:04 a.m. Eastern Time Tim BontempsESPN MIAMI – The Boston Celtics trailed the Miami Heat by five points on the road at halftime in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday night. And yet, the Celtics felt good. They couldn’t have played much worse in the first half, committing 10 turnovers and giving … Read more
MIAMI — In late January, the San Antonio Spurs traded backup guard Bryn Forbes to the Denver Nuggets. Five months later, that unassuming move made a big impact in the 2022 Eastern Conference finals. It was the opening of an opportunity for the Boston Celtics that has fully materialized as they have pushed the Miami … Read more
DALLAS — When Mavericks coach Jason Kidd called the first timeout of the fourth quarter with 9:32 left in the game, it was nothing more than a harmless, irritating streak by the Warriors that he was trying to stop. A 9-0 run from Golden State to open the fourth. Kidd, still with a 20-point cushion, … Read more
The word innovation is used a lot. All companies, in sports and elsewhere, call for innovation, innovation, the fight for it; but is that really true? A sports research firm is trying to quantify innovation among top sports leagues and teams, and some of the names on its second annual Top 25 list may come … Read more
CHICAGO — Player compositions are a popular way to make sense of the draft. They create easy-to-digest heuristics for teams and fans to understand what and who they are watching. This type of framework goes far beyond online speculation. At last week’s NBA Draft Combine, one of the most frequently asked questions these players were … Read more
BOSTON — Midway through the third quarter Monday night, as the Celtics extended their lead to 32 points, Rudy Gobert couldn’t resist. “This Boston defense is tough” the center of the Utah Jazz tweeted. This was both innocuous and accurate at a time when the Celtics were stifling the Miami Heat and rewriting a bunch … Read more
There were so many questions from Utah Jazz fans when we opened our mailing folder that we had to do a second one. And there are so many more questions that we will ask a third. a trilogy! With the Jazz on the other side of the NBA Draft Combine, we’re heading into training season. … Read more