Category: NBA Playoffs Blog

NBA playoffs blog

In hugely important game for Brooklyn, Nets gets blown out by Bulls

In hugely important game for Brooklyn, Nets gets blown out by Bulls

The Chicago Bulls are already headed to the 2015 NBA playoffs. The Brooklyn Nets hoped to join them. But a two-game losing streak now has Brooklyn’s postseason dream turning into a nightmare.

Behind 26 points off the bench from Nikola Mirotic, 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocks from Pau Gasol, and 50% team shooting, the Chicago Bulls beat the Nets in Brooklyn 113-86.

The Bulls outscored the Nets 30-15 in the third quarter. And with plenty of Bulls fans in the crowd, the visiting team got plenty of cheers on a number of plays — especially when D-Rose unleashed some quickness, several times leaving D-Will and other Nets defenders flat-footed behind him.

For Chicago, Jimmy Butler shot 7-of-10 for 17 points, Taj Gibson was 5-of-6 for 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, and Derrick Rose only shot 5-of-13 as he works his way back but still looked good, showing explosiveness at times and finishing with 13 points and seven assists.

The Nets struggled in just about every way possible. Bojan Bogdanovic came off the bench to lead them in scoring with 17. Jarrett Jack scored 15 in 25 minutes off the bench, but needed 14 shots to do it. Brook Lopez had a quiet night with 13 points, eight rebounds, no assists and one block. Deron Williams shot 3-of-13 for just nine points, seven rebound and five assists. Joe Johnson scored 12. Thaddeus Young shot 3-of-11 for eight points, 11 rebounds.

The Bulls had 26 assists, the Nets 12. And the Bulls hit 12-of-30 three-pointers, the Nets 3-of-12.

It was a mess in Brooklyn.

Nets coach Lionel Hollins: “Stats say it all. They shot better from the three than we did from two, they outscored us 56-36 (in the second half). We had 12 assists, five in the first half, and I told the coaches that if we go out there and can’t get more than five assists in the second half and only have 10, we can’t win. We got two more for 12 assists. We have to give up the ball, we have to make shots, we have to make layups, we have to defend with second and third efforts. It was a disappointing loss, but the way I look at it is that we have one more game left and we have to win it.”

For the Bulls, who played without center Joakim Noah, a bonus in addition to the win was very solid from Derrick Rose, who isn’t anything close to his superstar self of the past, but looks like a player that can help his squad in the postseason, which is the most Chicago can expect from him right now.

“The big thing is obviously getting Derrick Rose back,” said Chicago head coach Tom Thibodeau.

“He’s got the power, quickness and speed; it’s very unusual. I don’t know if anyone else is like him in the league,” said Thibodeau about Rose.

The Bulls go on to prepare for the playoffs. The Boston Celtics clinched a playoff spot tonight, so the Nets must hope that the Pacers and Heat — other East squads hoping to reach the postseason — don’t remember how to play basketball for the next 48 hours.

Mavs hope Chandler Parsons will return before playoffs

Mavs hope Chandler Parsons will return before playoffs

Here’s ESPN Dallas reporting on the Mavericks, who recently clinched a Western conference playoff spot. Seven spots are now claimed. The team hopes there will be good news on the Chandler Parsons front soon.

Mavs hope Chandler Parsons will return before playoffs

The Dallas Mavericks hope that small forward Chandler Parsons, who will miss his second consecutive game Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns due to swelling and soreness in his right knee, will get some playing time before the playoffs begin.

However, there is no firm timetable for Parsons’ return.

“He’s doing better. He’s just not there yet,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle told reporters after Wednesday’s shootaround. “We’d like to get him back to play a game or two before the playoffs, if it’s possible. But nothing is for sure.”

Danny Ainge happy with Celtics playoff push

Danny Ainge happy with Celtics playoff push

To make the playoffs or not? If a team has a chance to go far in the postseason, of course they should want in. But if they’re going to be lucky to even be there, and will quickly be sent home, and will receive a lower draft pick as a result? Tough to say what’s better for an organization. Because money is made on home attendance for a couple playoff games. But money also gets made from drafting a better player who helps the team win more and draw more fans and attention. Have fun analyzing all that. Anyway, here’s ESPN Boston reporting on the Celtics:

Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge admitted Thursday that he sees value in his team getting a taste of postseason experience and would be disappointed for his players and coaches if the Celtics were to come up short in their quest for a postseason berth.

Ainge, who as overseer of the team’s rebuild must balance a desire for optimum draft position with the benefits of his current players getting big-game experience, has been leery at times of simply sneaking into the playoffs in a lowly Eastern Conference. But with his team playing far more inspired ball in recent months, the possibility of an extended season seems to have grown on him.

“I probably would be [disappointed if the Celtics missed the postseason], just because our guys have worked really hard and our coaching staff. I know how much they’re focusing on getting into the playoffs,” Ainge said Thursday during his weekly call to Boston sports radio 98.5 the Sports Hub. “They’re working, they have goals, and I’d like for them to accomplish the goals that they’ve set. So, yeah, I’d be disappointed for them.”

LeBron James says he has been bothered by ankle for a few days

The Spurs currently lead the Heat 3-1 in the 2014 NBA Finals. Miami is coming off a Thursday home loss. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on the series and Heat star LeBron James:

LeBron James says he has been bothered by ankle for a few days

What started with LeBron James unable to even make his way off the court due to cramps could close with the Miami Heat forward limping to the finish of these NBA Finals.

In the wake of Thursday’s 107-86 loss to the San Antonio Spurs that dropped the Heat to a 3-1 deficit in this best-of-seven series that continues Sunday at 8 p.m. at the AT&T Center, both James and coach Erik Spoelstra acknowledged an ongoing ankle issue briefly took James off the court in the first quarter of Game 4.

“I went to go get re-taped, re-tape my ankle,” James said early Friday. “It’s been kind of bothering me for the last couple days, but I felt OK.”

With James unable to finish Game 1 due to cramps exacerbated by an air-conditioning malfunction at the AT&T Center, the Heat were unable to hold off the Spurs. Thursday, James appeared to be easing his way into Game 4, with both James and Spoelstra insisting that the other time James left the bench at the outset was because of a bathroom break.

Spurs play amazing first half in NBA Finals Game 3

The Spurs beat the Heat 111-92 Tuesday in Miami to take a 2-1 lead in the 2014 NBA Finals. San Antonio got off to an incredible start, and were able to keep the Heat at bay to secure the victory. Here’s the New York Daily News:

After starting the game by making 19 of their first 21 shots, the Spurs finished the half shooting 25-of-33 (76%), setting a Finals first-half record. Their 41 points in the first quarter were the most in a Finals game since 1967, while their 13-of-15 shooting in the first quarter (87%) also set a Finals record.

The Heat did cut the lead to seven points in the third period and was down only 10 with 8:54 to go in the game. But the Spurs, who are still smarting from their epic Game 6 collapse last June, didn’t come close to buckling this time.

Remember how Gregg Popovich complained after Game 2 on Sunday that the ball stuck to his team’s hands way too much in the critical fourth quarter, when it scored only six points in the final 4:40? For the first 19 minutes of this game, once the ball left the Spurs’ shooters hands, the only thing it stuck to was the nylon nets.

“I don’t think we’ll ever shoot 76% . . . ever . . . in a half . . . again,” Popovich said, looking amazed.

If you watched the Spurs score only 18 points in the fourth quarter of Game 2, you wouldn’t have thought that it was the same team. At the height of their blitz, they led 55-30.