The sports talk shows are rife with talk about the collapse in Cleveland—the Cavaliers’ post All-Star break woes that have now dropped them into second place in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland, at 47-26, has been passed by the Boston Celtics who are now at 48-26 as we head into the homestretch. Does it matter? Perhaps […]
The NBA playoffs get started on Saturday afternoon. To set the tone, TheSportsNotebook is running a Tale of the Tape of all 16 teams in the field. Or, to be more precise, we’re running a concise summation of each team’s tale of the tape, so you can read a summary of what they’re about and who they do it with, rather than wading through statistical data.
We’re in the final hours before the beginning of the 2012 NBA Playoffs. TheSportsNotebook has spent the last two days previewing all eight first-round matchups. Today we tie it all together. Below are links to each preview post. In parentheses next to each team are the Las Vegas odds for each on making it the Finals and winning the championship. And while TheSportsNotebook has already made picks on each of the first-round series, here’s my last call on who’s going to win the whole thing…
The matchup that ABC/ESPN are salivating for in the NBA’s first round is the New York Knicks taking on the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference. There’s two superstars under siege, in Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James, a coaching situation up in the air in New York and another one in Miami that will be if the Heat don’t win it all. And the Knicks playing well down the stretch while the Heat struggled have given rise to thoughts that an upset could be in the works. Can 7th-seeded New York really pull an outright series win on 2-seed Miami? TheSportsNotebook previews the action…
The Chicago Bulls-Philadelphia 76ers playoff matchup is one that could have been reasonably anticipated back in early February, but no one would have been thinking first round. At the time the 76ers looked like the best team in the Atlantic Division by a lot and a viable threat to at least put a scare into the Bulls if the teams were to meet in the second round. Instead it’s a Philly team that nearly played its way out of the postseason altogether that comes to the Windy City on Saturday afternoon to start the 1-8 matchup on the Eastern Conference side of the draw. TheSportsNotebook previews the Bulls-Sixers series…
The Indiana Pacers hold homecourt advantage in their matchup with the Orlando Magic in the 3-6 spot on the NBA’s Eastern Conference bracket. This is the “What Could Have Been” series, in that we could have had the best two centers in the East face off with Dwight Howard and Roy Hibbert. Instead, the enigmatic Howard is out for the year, Orlando is reeling and this has the feel of a rout waiting to happen. TheSportsNotebook previews the Indiana-Orlando series to see if there’s any hope of an upset…