Creative shot makers and flashy passers are the easiest players to appreciate as fans. Less obvious are the role players who contribute to winning even when they don’t have the ball — and few such role players have had a bigger impact than Houston’s PJ Tucker. There isn’t a formal definition for what constitutes a […]
There were several big storylines in the NBA this past weekend as the second round of the playoffs commenced. But all things considered, only one outcome was truly surprising: The Boston Celtics, who have struggled to find consistency, pieced together a dominant showing on the road against the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. Even more impressive than […]
gfoster (Geoff Foster, senior sports editor): The first-round of these NBA playoffs was widely viewed as a small appetizer (an amuse-bouche?) before the real meal begins in the conference semifinals. That has largely held true, particularly in the East, where the four teams that won — the Bucks, Celtics, Sixers and Raptors — lost a […]
With how lopsided many of these first-round NBA playoff series have been, it would have been understandable to want the Thunder-Blazers matchup to continue beyond Tuesday, both because of its star power and because of the sheer back-and-forth competitiveness it displayed. But if the series had to end quickly, at least it went out with […]
There was a moment in the fourth quarter Sunday night, just before the Thunder officially found their backs against the playoff wall, where Russell Westbrook had a decision to make. He had Blazers center Enes Kanter defending him in a 1-on-1 scenario in the corner, backpedaling — an instruction that was reportedly being shouted at […]