The minds behind Ball Don’t Lie are going to preview each of the parings in the third round, with Kelly Dwyer going against character for a more genial take, Dan Devine bringing his inimitable mixture of both order and bedlam, along with Eric Freeman’s legendary look inside the reputations of some of the series’ key fixtures.
We continue with the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers.
Which team do you think will win the series, and in how many games? Vote here to let us know what you think....
MIAMI (AP) -- Dwyane Wade's rookie season ended with a playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers. The next year, the Miami Heat were headed to the Eastern Conference finals and certain that an NBA championship was in their sights....
Boston Celtics Need to Cut Paul Pierce Yahoo! Contributor Network
COMMENTARY | The Boston Celtics are likely in for some drastic changes this offseason following a disappointing season, which ended at the hands of the New York Knicks. It appears that the window has finally closed on this veteran team led by Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, and a major overhaul appears to be on the horizon. This squad simply isn't a title contender, and it's tough to see how they could really get to that level by the beginning of next season....
Report: Clippers dismiss Del Negro The SportsXchange
The Los Angeles Clippers dismissed coach Vinny Del Negro Thursday following the team's first-round exit in the playoffs, according to Yahoo! Sports report....
Durant, others donate $1 million to tornado victims The SportsXchange
Kevin Durant donated $1 million to the Red Cross tornado and disaster relief fund to aid the victims of massive storms that devastated the greater Oklahoma City region Monday....
Dwight Howard Leaving Lakers Would Mark Epic Franchise Failure Yahoo! Contributor Network
COMMENTARY | If Dwight Howard spurns the Los Angeles Lakers, everything we know about what was once the gold standard of sports franchises is dead wrong....
Jim Boeheim says Knicks problem is not Carmelo, it’s everyone else NBC Sports
A good coach always has his players’ backs in public. Even if he hasn’t coached them in a decade. Enter legendary Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who like a lot of people in the great state of New York was watching Carmelo Antony lead the Knicks to eventual second round playoff elimination this year. You’ll remember…...
COMMENTARY | The Dallas Mavericks have an abundance of salary cap space heading into this offseason and pure logic would suggest that they will be one of the more active players in both the free agent and trade markets this summer. And while there are only two viable franchise centerpieces on the market via unrestricted free agency in Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, the Mavericks will certainly look at a bevy of other free agent options....
Chicago Bulls: Season in Review, Time to Make Tough Decisions Yahoo! Contributor Network
COMMENTARY | The Miami Heat eliminated the Chicago Bulls from the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, despite Chicago taking the first game of the series. The Bulls were eliminated in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2011-12. The Game 1 win gave fans hope, but we all knew it was simply delaying the inevitable....
Durant donates $1 million to tornado victims The SportsXchange
Kevin Durant donated $1 million to the Red Cross tornado and disaster relief fund to aid the victims of massive storms that devastated the greater Oklahoma City region Monday....
Report Tony Parker got death threat during Game 1 NBC Sports
This isn’t about Grizzlies’ fans or Spurs’ fans. This is about every city having a few complete idiots. The Sherriff’s Office in Bexar County – which includes San Antonio — is investigating a death threat leveled at Tony Parker during the Spurs/Grizzlies Game 1 Sunday, reports NBC’s WOAI in the city. The Bexar County Sheriff’s…...
Report Tony Parker got death threats during Game 1 NBC Sports
This isn’t about Grizzlies’ fans or Spurs’ fans. This is about every city having a few complete idiots. The Sherriff’s Office in Bexar County – which includes San Antonio — is investigating death threats leveled at Tony Parker during the Spurs/Grizzlies Game 1 Sunday, reports NBC’s WOAI in the city. The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office…...
Dwight Howard Picking Rockets Over Lakers? Yahoo! Contributor Network
COMMENTARY | Los Angeles has the massive market, superstar celebrities, engrossing endorsements and wonderful weather, but Houston, honestly, offers a better chance at winning a title for Dwight Howard. If Howard leaves L.A. and joins James Harden in Houston, is that really a downgrade?...
The night Celtics landed fifth pick in NBA lottery Comcast SportsNet New England
Members of the Celtics organization and all of their fans remember the sad night when the C's ended up with the fifth pick instead of the first or second....
Cavaliers fan/’lucky dude’ wins video contest, earns trip to 2013 NBA Draft Lottery Ball Don't Lie
This is Roy Tate Moore. He's a lucky dude. And because of that, he's going to Tuesday's 2013 NBA Draft Lottery with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Here's the explanation for Moore's video and trip, courtesy of Cavs.com :
Last Friday, May 17th, [Cavaliers owner Dan] Gilbert put out the call to his @cavsdan Twitter followers to produce and tweet a :30 second or less original video that creatively expressed why they should travel with him to New York for the lottery proceedings and help represent the Cavaliers. @RoyTateMoore did just that with a winning submission that demonstrated his positive karma to prove that he is “one lucky dude.” [...]
“I am so excited and thankful for this amazing opportunity. I can’t wait to be a part of this night and help represent the Cavaliers with Dan and Nick,” said Moore....
Dwight Howard is displeased with Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni because of course he is Ball Don't Lie
Dwight Howard, reportedly, is not happy with is coach. This is not a recycled column, though most of Howard’s complaints are.
The free agent center was granted an extended, private discussion with Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak following the typical, season-ending interviews with both Kupchak, and Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni. According to the quite trust-o-ble Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles , the former Orlando Magic big man expressed frustration with D’Antoni’s coaching style, putting some doubt into Howard’s expected return to Los Angeles during this offseason.
Here’s the noise :
According to sources with knowledge of the situation, part of the discussion between Howard and Kupchak centered around Howard's frustration with D'Antoni -- particularly how the center felt marginalized as the coach looked to Bryant and Steve Nash for leadership and suggestions and discounted Howard's voice....
Report Michael Jordan will unveil plan today to change Bobcats into Hornets NBC Sports
The Charlotte Hornets became the New Orleans Hornets, which became the New Orleans Pelicans, allowing the Charlotte Bobcats to become the Charlotte Hornets. Got it? A few days after news leaked, the plan will become official today. Steve Reed of the Associated Press Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan is changing his team’s name to the…...
Stan Van Gundy tells Orlando radio station he won’t coach in NBA next season Ball Don't Lie
Stan Van Gundy would be one of the most sought-after names on the NBA head coaching market ... except it sounds like he's taking himself off the market.
The news comes to us Tuesday morning from "The David Baumann Show" on 1080 The Team in Orlando :
BREAKING: Stan Van Gundy just told us he WILL NOT be a head coach in the NBA next season. It's a family decision.
— David Baumann (@DavidBaumann33) May 21, 2013
Stan Van Gundy: "The longer you are out, the more difficult it is to get back in... Right now it's not in the best interest of my family."
— David Baumann (@DavidBaumann33) May 21, 2013
Van Gundy's Tuesday radio announcement follows a May 15 report by Yahoo! Sports NBA columnist Adrian Wojnarowski that the former Miami Heat and Orlando Magic coach was "unlikely to return to coaching next season." Van Gundy also told Baumann that he hasn't interviewed with any NBA teams, "although several teams had contacted him and he keeps telling them no."...
DeAndre Jordan posterizes ESPN’s Charissa Thompson Video (Ball Don't Lie
"Posterizing." Pretty amazing when done by one student to another in a high-school hallway:
A little bit less so when done by an NBA center to a young lady in sandals:
But still, generally speaking, pretty good. (Probably wouldn't have killed you to at least double-pump or something, though, DeAndre Jordan.)...
Durant and Thunder tweet support for tornado victims Comcast SportsNet New England
Although most of the Thunder players left town after the season ended, you could see on Twitter that they were watching and thinking of Oklahoma after Monday's tornado....
SAN ANTONIO (AP) Zach Randolph's miserable Western Conference finals debut led to a sleepless night and a long film session.
The All-Star power forward and his Memphis Grizzlies are hardly down and out, though. In both rounds of the playoffs so far, Memphis has lost Game 1 before rallying back to knock out the Los Angeles Clippers and then the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This time, Randolph had his worst game ever in the playoffs, managing two points in a 105-83 blowout. His only lower-scoring game in 40 playoff appearances was when he played 1 minute as a rookie for Portland in a 2002 game.
"It's more frustrating than embarrassing," said Randolph, who missed his first seven shots in Game 1. "It's basketball. It happens to the best of them.
"Muhammad Ali, he got knocked down before. What made him the greatest fighter in...
NBA DRAFT LOTTERY SIM
MADNESS!
