NBA Playoffs Articles - Page 245

It looks like the Boston Celtics will not have Kemba Walker available for Sunday night’s Game 4 against the Brooklyn Nets, according to SNY’s Ian Begley. Walker is listed as questionable due to a left knee bone bruise, but the injury apparently didn’t respond well to workouts on Sunday morning. The veteran point guard struggled […]

New York Knicks All-Star Julius Randle enjoyed a true breakout season en route to winning Most Improved Player, leading the upstart Knicks to a shocking 41-31 record and the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. After dominating the fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks in three regular-season matchups, Randle issued a warning to the Hawks before their […]

The New York Knicks came out in Game 4 ready to even the series against the Atlanta Hawks. However, things didn’t go the Knicks’ way in Atlanta as Trae Young and company steamrolled them and won the game 113-96. At the end of the 4th quarter, things got chippy, with Reggie Bullock and Julius Randle […]

Los Angeles Clippers big man Serge Ibaka is expected to miss a second straight game against the Dallas Mavericks due to his back injury, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Ibaka missed Friday night’s Game 3 victory over the Mavs and will now miss Sunday night’s crucial Game 4. Ibaka also missed 30 straight games in the […]

The Dallas Mavericks take on the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 3 of one of the best playoff matchups in the West. It’s time to continue our NBA Playoff odds series and make a Clippers-Mavericks prediction and pick. The Mavericks are looking to regroup after a Game 3 loss in which Luka Doncic suffered a neck injury. The […]

Ahead of Game 4 between the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers, Suns head coach Monty Williams used his pre-game press conference to vent his frustration about the ending of Game 3. “We shouldn’t have been the only team having guys getting thrown out,” Williams said. In the final minute of Game 3, Phoenix wing […]

The Phoenix Suns are in a must-win situation in Game 4 against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. With Chris Paul clearly bothered by a shoulder injury, his status for Game 4 was in doubt after he played limited minutes and kept nagging at the injured shoulder in Game 3. However, Paul will be […]

The first-round matchup between the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets has been an eye-popping series to watch. As the series is knotted up at 2-2, Game 5 will be crucial to see which team can have a 3-2 series edge. As the Nuggets have home-court advantage in the next matchup, it will be up […]

Trae Young is a huge thorn in the side of the New York Knicks, as the Atlanta Hawks point guard is a problem the Knickerbockers don’t seem to have an idea on how to slow him down. But what makes Young even more annoying to the Knicks is his next-level junk talk that betrays his […]

The Los Angeles Lakers received good news and bad news before Sunday’s Game 4 vs the Phoenix Suns. Anthony Davis was cleared to play, but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was ruled out for the game as he deals with a left knee contusion that he suffered during Game 3. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (knee contusion) has been downgraded to […]

The Los Angeles Lakers will have Anthony Davis on the floor for their Game 4 matchup against the Phoenix Suns Sunday afternoon. This is according to Lakers head coach Frank Vogel himself, as reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Frank Vogel says AD is in and KCP is a gametime decision for Game 4. Both […]

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is expected to play in a critical Game 4 against the Los Angeles Clippers despite a neck strain, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Doncic was listed as questionable on Saturday for Sunday’s Game 4 after suffering the injury in a Game 3 loss on Friday night. It’s no surprise that […]

The Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets will square off in a crucial Game 4 affair at the TD Garden. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Nets-Celtics prediction and pick. Brooklyn dominated the first two games of this series at the Barclays Center. The series shifted to Boston for Game […]

After a resounding Game 1 upset of the Utah Jazz, the Memphis Grizzlies find themselves facing a 1-2 hole. The upstart Grizzlies trailed basically the entire way in Game 3, then went on a spirited run in the fourth quarter to take the lead with under five minutes to play. But like the veteran team […]

After losing the first game of the series, the Los Angeles Lakers have fought back and are now up 2-1 over the Phoenix Suns. Game 4 tips off on Sunday, when the Lakers aim to beat the Suns again. It should be a solid game, as the Suns will do everything to prevent falling two […]

Despite being down only 2-1 in the series, it has been a fairly dreadful showing so far for the New York Knicks in the NBA playoffs. Julius Randle has been abysmal, RJ Barrett has stopped making three’s, and the defense has had a couple of head-scratching lapses at inopportune times. Yet, a win on Sunday […]

The Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers will battle it out in Game 4 of this best-of-seven series. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Suns-Lakers prediction and pick. Los Angeles is showing why its seventh seed is a fluke and it is still one of the best teams in the […]

The New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks will battle it out in the crucial fourth game of this best-of-seven series. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Knicks-Hawks prediction and pick. Atlanta defeated the Knicks in Game 3 on Friday and will now look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead […]

New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau finally pulled the plug on Elfrid Payton as the starting point guard in Game 3 against the Atlanta Hawks, inserting Derrick Rose into the starting lineup. Thibodeau technically first made the move at halftime of Game 2 when he had Rose start the second half of that victory. […]

Finally, the Los Angeles Clippers came alive in Game 3, winning an important matchup to avoid going down 3-0. Now, just one game back, LA hopes to even up the series on Sunday in Clippers-Mavericks Game 4. Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks will do everything they can to take a commanding 3-1 lead, which […]

The Joel Embiid of old is gone. The All-Star that Philadelphia 76ers fans have followed for years has been replaced, and in his stead, a new Embiid has emerged – one that’s actually ready to compete for a title. As cheesy as it sounds, it’s been the absolute truth this season in more ways than […]

Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler just had the worst playoff series of his career, totaling only 58 points while shooting under 30% from the field against Giannis Antetokounmpo and a ferocious Milwaukee Bucks defense in a four-game sweep. In fact, things were so bad for Butler that he was outscored by Bucks reserve Bryn Forbes, […]

The New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks series has been one of the more exciting matchups during the 2021 NBA Playoffs. Derrick Rose is playing like his former MVP self while Trae Young is proving why he’s one of the NBA’s rising stars. It’s nice to have the Knicks back in the playoffs after all […]

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid put together a tour de force performance in Game 3 against the Washington Wizards, pouring in 36 points on 14-of-18 shooting in a 132-103 beatdown. The Sixers center added eight rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block in a game that was never all that competitive. In addition to […]

Damian Lillard is the heart and soul of the Portland Trail Blazers franchise. They’ll only go as far as he can carry them. In Game 4 against the Denver Nuggets, Lillard didn’t exactly carry them very far. He was absolutely putrid in that game, scoring just 10 points on a ghastly 1-for-10 shooting from the […]

Through the early goings of the 2021 NBA playoffs, three contenders are slowing emerging out of the pack as the favorites to win the East. The Philadelphia 76ers are proving to be worthy contenders after they finished the regular season with the best record in the conference and with Joel Embiid playing MVP-level basketball. Of […]

For Utah Jazz star Mike Conley, the statement “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain” rings so true. At least that’s what he felt when he visited FedeExForum to play his former team, the Memphis Grizzlies, in the first round of the playoffs. After the Jazz survived an onslaught of cheers from […]

The Dallas Mavericks gave an important game away to the Los Angeles Clippers, as the first-round series between both teams is now at 2-1. The Mavs still have the advantage in the series, but they are somewhat still the underdogs just because they’re not as talented as the Clips. While Games 1 and 2 went […]

The Washington Wizards now find themselves in a nearly inescapable hole against the Philadelphia 76ers. At the heart of their problems lies the unstoppable force known as Joel Embiid. The Cameroonian big man has tortured Washington in every game of the series. Embiid has averaged 29.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game through three contests. […]

Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant didn’t need “experience” to make an impact on his first playoff series. Just give him the ball and he’ll score, no matter what the situation or how high the pressure is. While the Grizzlies have fallen to a 2-1 deficit to the Utah Jazz, Morant can’t be blamed for their […]

The Washington Wizards aren’t eliminated from the playoffs just yet, but they’re all but there after the brutal beating they received in Game 3. Wizards star Bradley Beal knows the road back is near-impossible, but he had some words of wisdom for his D.C. side, via The Athletic’s Fred Katz. “I’m a huge fan of […]

A lot has been said about Julius Randle’s performance for the New York Knicks in the 2021 playoffs so far. Naturally, most of them are not good, with some even teasing him of choking in what could be said the biggest moment of his career. However, head coach Tom Thibodeau is not losing faith in […]

Dennis Schroder and Andre Drummond have the same two items on their agenda: help the Los Angeles Lakers win the 2020-21 NBA championship, then get paid in free agency. Three games into the Lakers’ first-round series vs. the Phoenix Suns, we’ve seen what Schroder and Drummond can do to achieve both, which, ironically, jeopardizes their […]

Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons got no chill on the Washington Wizards’ Russell Westbrook. In one play during Game 3 of the Sixers and Wizards’ first-round matchup, Simmons got the better of Westbrook and continued to rub it in the face of the 2017 Most Valuable Player. Simmons finds space inside the paint then […]

Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard scored just 10 points in Game 4 against the Denver Nuggets, but that doesn’t matter to him since they got the win. Lillard shot 1-of-10 from the field, making most of his points (seven) from the free-throw line. While such poor production from Dame often leads to losses for […]

Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler is considering a temporary expansion of Big Face Coffee in Tokyo, Japan. After the Heat’s playoff elimination at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks, Butler sounded off on the idea of playing for Team USA in this year’s Olympics, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Jimmy Butler says he […]

The Denver Nuggets lost to the Portland Trail Blazers by 20 points in Game 4 of their playoff series, but that is not what head coach Michael Malone is angry about. In his postgame presser after the Blazers tied the series at 2-2, Malone highlighted his shock and disappointment that they didn’t play hard enough. […]

Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic isn’t letting Kendrick Perkins’ criticism of his defensive play slip by. To recall, Perkins was critical of the Bosnian big man’s lockdown ability following the Blazers’ loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 3. Mike Malone flat out coached Terry Stotts!!! Nurkic and Kanter are the worse defensive bigs […]

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic has been listed as questionable for Sunday’s Game 4 against the Los Angeles Clippers due to a neck injury, but head coach Rick Carlisle is not too worried about it. In his talk with reporters on Saturday–just over an hour after the Mavs’ injury report was released–Carlisle expressed his optimism […]