Category: NBA Playoffs Blog

NBA playoffs blog

Your reactions: LeBron James vs Draymond Green

In the upcoming Cavaliers vs Warriors NBA Finals, it’ll be a Warriors team effort to guard LeBron James, but Golden State forward and defensive guru Draymond Green should be a big part of that. On Twitter tonight, we (@InsideHoops) tossed this out there: LeBron James vs Draymond Green, discuss. Here are some of your most interesting responses:

@AJConolly: I think LeBron will cook him but can’t wait to see how Green does.

@seanndebbie: It’s no discussion, last time Green guarded Lebron, Lebron dropped 42.

@josephbacaltos: Warriors players still going help off their man.

@camillasaguin: Uhhh why is this even a discussion? LeBron can’t and won’t be stopped. Draymond Green? Who dat? Who dat? #NoMatch

‏@Max_Atttack: Draymond will be able to hold Lebron better than any other defender he’s gone up against this postseason.

@Lienitis117a: Draymond Green is a lot like Kwahi, so I expect LeBron to have rough games…

@Joshuabehymer: Draymond will play him like Diaw did for the Spurs. Straight up and physical, if he scores, you live with it.

@JdotKimmy: The most physical defender GS can throw at him, but not enough quickness to keep up.

@akunematata: Who will guard Tristan Thompson? Field day on the boards.

@RomeTrav: Somebody hacked yall.

@TravBoll91: That means Barnes on Thompson for the rebounding battle. Good luck with that.

@lfredgarrido: Green’s a good defender but LeBron is strong enough to enforce. Green’s not yet on the Kwahi/PG13 lvl on terms of stopping LBJ.

@rook_js: Livingston would have more success guarding him then anybody else on GS.

‏@8ballSprts: Unless Draymond learns to harness his aggressive and passionate style, he will be in foul trouble often.

@Jmic84: Didn’t @KingJames drop 40 last time? Yea no chance.

Klay Thompson health update: OK for NBA Finals Game 1

Klay Thompson health update: Good to go for NBA Finals Game 1

Klay Thompson health update: OK for NBA Finals Game 1

Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson, who was diagnosed with a concussion after suffering an injury during Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on May 27, has completed the NBA’s concussion protocol and has been cleared to play for Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.

This was expected, as there was no reason to think the effects of the concussion would linger beyond this year’s lengthy period between the end of the Conference Finals and the start of the NBA Finals.

Thompson’s scoring and outside shooting is a key part of the Warriors offense.

According to CSN Bay Area, “Thompson said after working out each of the past two days, he has lost nothing in terms of conditioning or rhythm. “We’ve had so much time to get it back, I don’t think it really messed with me,” he said, referring to the seven-day layoff between the conference finals.”

Expect Klay Thompson to be ready for NBA Finals Game 1

Expect Klay Thompson to be ready for NBA Finals Game 1

Everyone expects Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (concussion) to be ready for NBA Finals Game 1 on Thursday. Head coach Steve Kerr feels the same way. Here’s CSN Bay Area reporting:

Expect Klay Thompson to be ready for NBA Finals Game 1

Eight years after the Warriors snapped a long playoff drought and pulled a shocking first-round upset under the “We Believe” banner, there is a new cause in which they believe.

Shooting guard Klay Thompson, who sustained a concussion in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday, will be fit to return for Game 1 of the NBA Finals next Thursday – or so coach Steve Kerr believes.

“I expect him to be there,” Kerr said after Saturday’s practice, in which Thompson did not participate.

Klay Thompson diagnosed with concussion

Klay Thompson suffers concussion, exact return date unknown

Klay Thompson diagnosed with concussion

Following extensive examinations over the last two days – including neurological tests earlier this morning – Warriors’ guard Klay Thompson has been diagnosed with a concussion. He will not return to the court until he is symptom-free and cleared under the NBA’s concussion protocol guidelines. He will be evaluated daily and there is no timetable for his return.

Warriors eliminate Rockets, reach NBA Finals

The AP reports: After a generation of wishing and waiting, the Golden State Warriors have finally arrived on basketball’s biggest stage again. Stephen Curry had 26 points and eight rebounds, Harrison Barnes added 24 points and the Warriors advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in 40 years with a 104-90 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night… The Warriors shook off a slow start and sweated out a shaky finish in Game 5 to close out the Rockets and set up a matchup with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers beginning June 4… Dwight Howard led Houston with 18 points and 16 rebounds. But MVP runner-up James Harden had a forgettable finale, with a playoff-record 13 turnovers and 14 points on 2-of-11 shooting.

The AP reports: Things got tougher on Curry and the Warriors when backcourt mate Klay Thompson faked a shot that drew Trevor Ariza in the air early in the fourth quarter. Thompson absorbed Ariza’s knee to the side of his head, sending him to the floor. Thompson, who finished with 20 points, lay on the ground for a minute before walking to the locker room. He came back to the bench after receiving stitches on his right ear.

AFP reports: Forward Harrison Barnes played a key role, helping Golden State break open a close contest with four straight baskets to cap an 11-2 scoring run that turned a six-point lead into an 87-72 Warriors advantage with 7:07 left to play. Barnes scored nine straight points on a jump shot, a three-pointer, a running basket and a dunk.

AFP reports: The Warriors defense harried Rockets star guard James Harden into a dismal two-for-11 shooting performance. He missed all three of his three-point attempts and finished with an NBA playoff record 13 turnovers.

AFP reports: Dwight Howard led Houston with 18 points and 16 rebounds, but the Rockets shot just 35.1 percent from the field.

Reuters reports: The Rockets had won Game Four of the series on Monday to avoid being swept, but were outscored 35-24 in the second quarter on Wednesday and played catch up the rest of the way.

Cavs sweep Hawks, reach 2015 NBA Finals

Cavs sweep Hawks, reach 2015 NBA Finals

The AP reports: The championship LeBron James craves more than any other, the one he came back home to get, is within reach. The Cavaliers are in the NBA Finals. James scored 23 points, Kyrie Irving provided a boost after missing two games and Cleveland reserved a spot in the finals with a 118-88 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night to win the Eastern Conference title. By sweeping the top-seeded Hawks, the Cavs earned their second trip to the finals, where they will face either Golden State or Houston starting June 4.

The AP reports: It will be the fifth straight visit to the league’s showcase event for the inimitable James, who returned to Cleveland after four years in Miami to try and end this city’s championship drought dating to 1964. The Cavs are four wins from doing it, and if they can, James will have a title that would put him in a class by himself. Other players have won more championships, but none has ever done it for his ring-starved home region.

The AP reports: Jeff Teague scored 17 and Paul Millsap 16 for Atlanta, which won a team-record 60 games during the regular season and made the conference finals for the first time since 1970. But the Hawks were no match for the Cavaliers and had no answer for James, who nearly averaged a triple-double in the four games.

Reuters reports: In addition to his 23 points, James also made nine rebounds and had seven assists on Tuesday, doing most of his scoring in the first half as Cleveland opened up a commanding 59-42 by halftime. The Cavs were bolstered by the return of point guard Kyrie Irving, who had missed the last two games with a knee injury. Irving played 22 minutes and scored 16 points.

AFP reports: Cleveland will face either the Golden State Warriors or the Houston Rockets in the championship showdown. Golden State leads that series 3-1.

Rockets win Game 4 vs Warriors

Rockets win Game 4 vs Warriors

When Golden State’s Stephen Curry crashed into Trevor Ariza’s shoulder, was upended and sent flying toward the court on Monday night against Houston, it felt like forever before he landed.

”That was the worst (fall ever) because you’re in the air for a long time,” Curry said. ”And not knowing how you’re going to hit the floor, knowing that it’s going to happen, it’s inevitable, but you’re up there just trying to brace yourself.”

The MVP was able to return to Game 4 of the Western Conference finals after the spill but the Warriors couldn’t overcome a big deficit, as James Harden scored 45 points in the Rockets’ 128-115 victory.

— Associated Press

While the Rockets prevented a sweep, no team in NBA history has recovered from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series.

“We’re a really good team when we are moving the ball and working together,” Harden said. “We’ve got to do a better job of being consistent.”

Harden made 13-of-22 shots from the floor, including 7-of-11 from 3-point range, and added nine rebounds and five assists.

— AFP

Harden also pulled down nine rebounds, while center Dwight Howard notched 14 points and 12 boards as the Rockets ensured they would live to fight another day, pulling back to 3-1 down in the best-of-seven series.

Curry finished with 23 points, while guard Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 24.

Golden State, who will have their next chance to close out the series back in Oakland on Wednesday, have not been to the NBA finals since 1975.

— Reuters

Incident with Matthew Dellavedova leads to Al Horford ejection

Incident with Matthew Dellavedova leads to Al Horford ejection

Here’s the Akron Beacon Journal reporting on a key sequence from Sunday’s Hawks-Cavs Eastern Conference Finals Game 3 in Cleveland, which the Cavaliers won in overtime to take a 3-9 series lead:

Incident with Matthew Dellavedova leads to Al Horford ejection

Matthew Dellavedova’s growing reputation as a dirty player — deserved or not — preceded him Sunday night.

And it seemed to play a part in another playoff entanglement, following his leg lock on the Chicago Bulls’ Taj Gibson in the conference semifinals and his collision with the Atlanta Hawks’ Kyle Korver on Friday that left Korver with a postseason-ending ankle sprain.

This time in a scramble for a rebound with 34.3 seconds left in the first half at Quicken Loans Arena, Cavs’ backup point guard Dellavedova tripped over the Hawks’ DeMarre Carroll and fell in a heap with Atlanta’s Al Horford. When he felt Dellavedova on his knees, Horford elbowed Dellavedova in the neck and shoulder area.

After a lengthy review, Horford received a flagrant-2 and an ejection and Dellavedova was called for a technical foul for what crew chief Ken Mauer called “a live ball physical taunt.”

The moment nearly stole the spotlight from a play-to-exhaustion triple-double from LeBron James as the Cavs edged the Hawks 114-111 in overtime in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Cavs will attempt to sweep the visiting Hawks in Game 4 Tuesday night and earn a trip to the NBA Finals.