The San Antonio Spurs swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in what had to be one of the least watched NBA Finals in many years. Watching the Lebron-led Cavs break against the solid as a rock Spurs left everyone here at Hooplog looking forward to the off-season, as the Eastern Conference has a lot of work to ahead to match the likes of the Western powerhouses, Spurs, Suns, and Mavericks. With Kobe possibly on his way out in L.A., maybe he could help revitalize an Eastern Conference team.
Way back during the preseason, during the coach's league-wide conference calls with the media, Avery Johnson was asked how you beat the Spurs (a team on which he played and won a championship). This is what he said:I have been...... Link
What a great first round. We, the humble fans of the NBA, have been given some great contests filled with buzzer beaters and last second heroics. The first round rattled off without much of a hitch as the favored teams have won as expected. The only outcome which remains to be... Link
Jeff Caplan of the STAR-TELEGRAM in Dallas writes, "Another day without a game, another day of answering questions about getting ready to play one. 'I'm ready to see no reporters,' Dirk Nowitzki quipped sarcastically. On Day 4 of not playing, the Mavericks had a relaxed film session Friday on... Link
The San Antonio Spurs' most entertaining first-round series in years ended the way it began: with a methodical blowout victory for the defending NBA champions. Tony Parker scored a playoff career-high 31 points and Tim Duncan had 15 as the Spurs finally shook the Sacramento Kings, winning Game 6... Link
We love Sam Cassell, and it's not just because he's unafraid to slip in a "Coming to America" reference while addressing 19,000 people. The guy's a winner. (A winner who closed his thank-you address to the Staples Center fans before the final regular-season game by saying "Sexual Chocolate!") In... Link
A response to Kobe, Lakers ready to face Nash, Suns:I keep hearing people ask "Which of the Suns is gonna keep up with Kobe?" "How're the Suns gonna cope with Kobe?" How come no one's asking "How're the Lakers gonna cope with Steve Nash?" Geez! Two MVP-caliber seasons and... Link
In the ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, Aaron Lopez writes that "with a 101-95 loss against the Grizzlies, the Clippers 'secured' the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and will have home-court advantage in a first-round playoff series against the No. 3 Denver Nuggets. Memphis will be the No. 5... Link
In the DALLAS MORNING NEWS, Eddie Sefko writes that "four meetings this season produced a 3-1 record for the Mavericks" against the Memphis Grizzlies, "their first-round playoff opponent, which was cemented Tuesday night when the Grizzlies defeated the Los Angeles Clippers. However, in the loss, the Mavericks were hammered... Link
The top four is set, but the battle for the final four spots in the NBA’s Eastern Conference Playoffs is as tight and bunched-up as Magic Johnson’s boxers. Milwaukee, Washington, and Indiana all have identical 39-40 records, with Chicago one game behind them at 35-41. The Sixers are the... Link
window.document.getElementById('post-563').parentNode.className += ' adhesive_post'; CHRIS WILCOX NAMED WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK SEATTLE – The NBA announced today that Sonics forward Chris Wilcox has been named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, April 3 through Sunday, April 9. Wilcox averaged 23.0 points and 15.3... Link
He will miss the rest of the regular season and perhaps all of the playoffs. Van Horn, the primary backup for Dirk Nowitzki, was injured Friday night while trying to make a steal.... Link
Alright, since everyone in the league was off last night, it's time to reset the playoff race. I'm going to break down the remaining win probabilities for each of the four teams in the hunt - the Lakers, Kings, Hornets and Jazz. (My previous posts on win probability are... Link
It’s been awhile since Cleveland Cavalier fans can talk about the playoffs, but thanks to Lebron James monster game last night it’s on every Cavalier fans mind today. James scored 46 points to lead the Cavaliers to a 107-94 win over the Dallas Mavericks in Cleveland. James also reached... Link
I almost died laughing when I saw the headline of Tim Thomas getting waived. But, when I saw Bo Outlaw and Jim Jackson receive the same treatment the laugh got caught up in a semi-WHAT! Granted Bo isn't the prototype anything but (as a personal friend) I admire his... Link
Well I’m glad the NBA (David Stern) came to its senses and invited Gilbert Arenas to play in Houston this weekend after all. Too bad Gil had to go and finish the first half of the season with a 4-for-22 effort and 6 turnovers at Dallas. Ouch.So we have... Link
Link: SI.com - NBA - Sonics send Radmanovic to Clippers for Wilcox The LA Clippers are doing very well this seasons. Most people would assume the mirage will go away eventually. The Clippers never seem to get out of the basement of mediocraty in most people's minds, but finally,... Link
"A trade rumor filtered down from Canada into American Airlines Center on Monday night," writes Dwain Price of the DALLAS FORT WORTH STAR TELEGRAM. "And it was stamped out fast. According to a league insider, the Mavs and Toronto were talking about sending Keith Van Horn to the Raptors... Link
It has been announced that Ray Allen has been selected to participate in the Three-Point Shootout at this year’s All-Star game. He joins Quentin Richardson (the defending champion), Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Chauncey Billups and Raja Bell in the competition. I like Allen’s chances this year. He probably has... Link
"Dallas Mavericks second-year coach Avery Johnson often described something that was successful as being `well documented' during his playing days," writes Marc J. Spears of the DENVER POST. "But with other teams getting bigger play this season, the Mavericks' winning ways have been far from well-documented."... Link
Management acknowledged their mistake yesterday after a minor cost-cutting move may have cost them a game. When they cut Mateen Cleaves just prior to his contract becoming guaranteed it was a calculated gamble to save a few bucks. Rick Brunson was healing and Damien Wilkens showing potential to play... Link
Finish another page in the Jerry Sloan-Greg Ostertag saga. After meeting with Sloan and Jazz senior vice president of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor on Friday morning the indefinite suspension of the 7-foot-2 center turned out to be only one game. Ostertag did not travel with the team and will... Link
