12:40 AM EDT, Tue March 19, 2024
CelticsBlog

NBA bracket watch: An early look at playoff seeds and matchups

Photo by Stacy Revere/ An early look at potential matchups through the Eastern Conference playoffs The playoffs are still a month away and there’s a lot left to be decided in the seedings. However, there are some pieces of the puzzle that are already settling into their spaces. For one thing it appears a foregone conclusion that the Celtics will have the number one seed wrapped up sooner than later. They are the first team to clinch a playoff spot and have just a 7 game magic number to clinch the top overall seed. The Bucks and Cavs are the closest in the East at 9.5...

www.chron.com

Rockets offense is now a juggernaut. Are playoffs actually in reach?

Houston's resurgent attack is the catalyst for an increasingly-possible play-in bid. 

Lakers Nation

Darvin Ham: Lakers’ Matchup Against Warriors Is ‘Extremely Important’

Head coach Darvin Ham's got 15 games to get the Los Angeles Lakers ready for the NBA playoffs or more likely the Play-In Tournament...

Blazer's Edge

Bonus Highlights: Celtics Clinch Playoffs, Thunder Dump the Mavs, and More

Glad I’m not this poor dude. | Photo by Maddie Meyer/ Highlights from around the league, of some teams having more fun than the Blazers, and some having less. Well, the Blazers came up short against the Knicks tonight, but it was not the only action around the league. Blazer fans are interested in Golden State’s draft pick, but they had the night off. Let’s pop around and catch up with everyone else. If You’re Going To Check Out One Game Tonight... Thunder 126, Mavericks 119 It’s slim pickings for an “exciting game” this evening, but tonight’s tilt...

Lakers Nation

This Day In Lakers History: Elgin Baylor Scores 40 Points Against Detroit Pistons In NBA Playoffs

The Los Angeles Lakers have a rich and storied history, one that has been graced by some of the greatest players...

Brew Hoop

Deer Diaries, Ep. 177: West Coast, Worst Coast

Photo by Ezra Shaw/ California Love? More like California Leave Us Alone Just when it seemed as if the Milwaukee Bucks had worked it all out, they hit the road and things got wonky yet again. To break down a 1-3 California road trip, I was joined by Adam Paris and Jackson Gross last night (their first appearance on the podcast together!). We talk about road woes (real and felt), preview the coming playoffs for Damian Lillard, and wonder about whether two starting bigs a big man rotation makes. All that, plus! We each provide a thing we believe the Bucks need to do to...

ClutchPoints

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham details process of ‘building a relationship’ with D’Angelo Russell

Darvin Ham and D’Angelo Russell have come a long way since beginning their working relationship as members of the Los Angeles Lakers. Once at odds, their progress as collaborators since last season’s playoffs has helped unlock Russell in 2024 — and keyed the Lakers’ recent uptick in play. Since rejoining the Lakers’ lineup on Jan. […] The post Lakers head coach Darvin Ham details process of ‘building a relationship’ with D’Angelo Russell appeared first on ClutchPoints.

Bright Side Of The Sun

Playoff Preview: Ranking Potential Playoff Opponents for the Phoenix Suns

Photo by Nick Cammett/ Who should Suns fans want to face in the first round of the playoffs? Who should be avoided at all costs? Let’s dive in. The NBA Playoffs are around the corner. It’s never too early to take a peak at the landscape of the Western Conference. Scouting potential opponents comes with several disclaimers, including health, individual matchups, and more. Here are my favorite to least favorite matchups in the first round for the Phoenix Suns. This list focuses on realistic matchups as the Suns sit in the 6th seed. Photo by Nick...

CelticsBlog

It’s the defense, stupid

Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via As the playoffs near, the Celtics are peaking defensively. The Celtics could run a few more Derrick White-Kristaps Porzingis pick-and-rolls. They shoot too many three-pointers. They don’t take enough three-pointers. After a two-game losing streak, the knee jerk reaction would be to criticize the offense. Losing is a deficit of points in the end. Shot-making can be a fickle thing however and Joe Mazzulla has been quick to defend his team on most nights when not enough of them go down. But quietly over the last few months, the Celtics...

Canis Hoopus

Wolves’ NBA 2K24 Ratings Rise as Home Stretch of Regular Season Approaches

T.J. Warren, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Anthony Edwards, and Kyle Anderson in NBA 2K24 | NBA 2K24 Timberwolves players Anthony Edwards, Kyle Anderson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and T.J. Warren saw altered NBA 2K24 ratings, three of which were positive. Here we are, the home stretch of the regular season. Hasn’t it gone quickly, folks? With 20 games remaining until the 2024 NBA Playoffs, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ regular season is far from over. They are tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record in the Western Conference and have been battling...

Blazer's Edge

Wolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns to Undergo Surgery After Injury vs. Blazers

Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports Karl-Anthony Towns tore his meniscus against the Blazers on Monday. Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns is expected to be out for the foreseeable future, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. ESPN Sources: Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns will undergo surgery to repair a torn left meniscus and will be reevaluated in a month. It’s expected Towns will return by early in the Western Conference playoffs. Towns suffered the knee injury in Monday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, where he played just...

Golden State Of Mind

Dub Hub: Steve Kerr ‘ramps up’ Trayce Jackson-Davis’ minutes to prepare him for playoffs

Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Thursday, March 7th. Warriors News: Steve Kerr: “We got to get (Trayce Jackson-Davis) more minutes to get him ready for the playoffs” Kerr says he decided "ramp up" TJD's minutes to get him ready for the playoffs pic.twitter.com/fporqULzic— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 7, 2024 Warriors debut new fully loaded rotation in 125-90 beatdown of Bucks | The Athletic The secure starting lineup: Steph Curry, Jonathan Kuminga, Podziemski, Wiggins and Green. That five-man...

CelticsBlog

What has been the most pleasant surprise this season? (Celtics Reacts Survey)

Boston Celtics biggest surprise and biggest disappointments for the season thus far Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Boston Celtics fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. Most of us had a good feeling that this season could be an enjoyable one. But there were lingering doubts and worries from the playoffs that would only be put to bed with an extremely strong season. And even then there are some questions that will have to wait till the...

NESN.com

How Celtics Exposed Ever-Shifting Narrative In Two-Game Span

The Boston Celtics collided with their worst nightmare Tuesday night while in pursuit of extending their 11-game winning streak against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite building a favorable 22-point lead over Cleveland with nine minutes left to play in the fourth quarter, somehow, Boston collapsed miserably — reminiscent of a handful of stretches in the playoffs […]

Pounding The Rock

What We Learned from the Spurs loss to the Rockets

Photo by Logan Riely/NBAE via Rockets bring the Spurs back down to Earth To be honest, I expected to wake up this morning to distressing headlines: “WEMBANYAMA FED UP.” “SITUATION UNSUSTAINABLE: VICTOR WANTS TO WIN NOW” “HOW MUCH LONGER CAN THE SPURS SUBJECT THIS GREAT NATION TO SEEING VICTOR WEMBANYAMA ON A LOTTERY TEAM” “IT’S TIME: SPURS MUST DO RIGHT BY GENERATIONAL TALENT AND RELEASE HIM BEFORE THE PLAYOFFS START” “WHEN VICTOR WAS IN EGYPT’S LAND: LET MY VICTOR GO!” Things of that nature. You see, the Spurs had lost a game and they had...

www.ocregister.com

Clippers’ Russell Westbrook has surgery on broken left hand

The nine-time All-Star is expected to begin rehabilitation soon and be ready in time for the Western Conference playoffs, which will begin the weekend of April 20-21.

Los Angeles Times

Clippers guard Russell Westbrook has surgery to repair fractured left hand

The hope is that Russell Westbrook will be back on the court in April before the playoffs after having surgery on his fractured left hand Monday.

NESN.com

Celtics Legend Paul Pierce Oddly Likens Knicks To ‘Instagram Model’

The Boston Celtics could face the New York Knicks in the NBA playoffs, but Paul Pierce wouldn’t be too intimidated by the matchup. That isn’t because of Jalen Brunson’s knee injury last week or Julius Randle’s or OG Anunoby’s injury. Pierce’s take was one not even Kevin Garnett could get behind. “I be on Instagram […]

Lakers Nation

Rui Hachimura: Lakers Need To Be Ready To See Nuggets Again In Playoffs

Just about every member of the Los Angeles Lakers organization has had the same focus in recent days, and that it the team's...

Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Looking ahead to playoffs, Timberwolves' worst foe in the Western Conference is likely themselves

The Wolves' problem in the postseason may be whether they can overcome themselves.

NESN.com

Celtics Should Steer Clear Of Otto Porter Jr. After Expected Buyout

The Boston Celtics still have a vacant roster spot along with their league-best 46-12 record, lethal offense and No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. After the team acquired Xavier Tillman and Jaden Springer and departed from Dalano Banton, Lamar Stevens, the door was opened for a last-minute addition before the playoffs. However, the front […]

Los Angeles Times

The Lakers and Clippers are ready to share their home for the final time

Unless they meet in the playoffs this spring, the Lakers and Clippers will play their final Hallway Series game as arena co-tenants on Wednesday.

Posting and Toasting

Knicks Bulletin: “New York is the Mecca of basketball.”

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Resigned Thibs didn’t quite acknowledge shortcomings, DiVo’s greenlight, Zion’s trip to the Garden... Another day, another loss. That’s a bit of a stretch, I know, but it’s how things are going more often than not for the New York Knicks in February as they navigate the second half of the season while waiting for their banged-up players to make their respective comebacks ahead of the playoffs. On Tuesday, in the second game of a back-to-back homestand, the Knicks lost to the visiting New Orleans Pelicans 115-92 and...

ClutchPoints

Joel Embiid’s wife Anne de Paula

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid got married to longtime girlfriend Anne de Paula, a Brazilian model, in July 2023. Currently, Embiid is just hoping to return from knee injury in time for the NBA Playoffs. For now, we will get to know about Mrs. Process, how did she meet Embiid, what made her busy before […] The post Joel Embiid’s wife Anne de Paula appeared first on ClutchPoints.

Canis Hoopus

The Wolves Have a Historically Great Defense. How Have Similar Teams Fared in the Playoffs?

Photo by David Berding/ Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels and the Timberwolves are likely to become one of just 19 teams to have finish a season with a defensive rating more than seven points better than league average. The Minnesota Timberwolves’ defense is not just great, but statistically one of the most dominant units of of the past 40 seasons. Currently, the Wolves’ top-ranked defensive rating of 108.5 is 7.3 points better than the league average of 115.8. If it stays at that level, and it very likely will, the Wolves will finish the season as one of just 19 teams...

NESN.com

Ex-NBA Executive Blindly Feeds Flawed Jayson Tatum Narrative

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum will have to wait for the playoffs to detach himself from one harmful narrative that’s both misleading and disingenuous. Tatum, who’s been through the heartbreak of losing in the NBA Finals and crumbling to a No. 8-seeded Miami Heat team in the Eastern Conference finals last season, has been the […]

FOX Sports

2024 NBA odds: Trae Young's injury impacts Hawks' playoff chances

How has the injury to Trae Young affected the Hawks' chances to make the playoffs? See the latest odds.

Golden State Of Mind

How the Warriors lost the 4-on-3 battle against the Nuggets

Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via The Nuggets beat them at their own numbers-disadvantage game. Let’s take a time machine to one of this dynasty’s highs — back in 2022, during the Golden State Warriors’ improbable championship run that solidified Steph Curry’s legacy. With a minute left in Game 3 of their first round series against the Denver Nuggets and protecting a precarious three-point lead, Curry called his shot in Ruthian fashion: Been re-watching the playoffs and I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but...Watch Steph Curry do the Night Night...

Are the Pelicans too inexperienced to make the playoffs? | The Jump

Rachel Nichols, Dave McMenamin and Scottie Pippen react to Jrue Holiday's comments about the feelings around the New Orleans Pelicans this season with Zion Williamson, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram among the additions brought in by David Griffin, and Anthony

Scottie Pippen: James Harden needs to rest more during the regular reason | The Jump

Rachel Nichols, Dave McMenamin and Scottie Pippen debate the idea of the Houston Rockets using load management on James Harden during the 2019-20 NBA season in the hopes of having him perform better in the playoffs. #TheJump #NBA #Sports ✔

Sky’s the limit for the 76ers if Joel Embiid can keep his weight down – Scottie Pippen | The Jump

Rachel Nichols, Dave McMenamin and Scottie Pippen react to Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid saying he's lost about 25 pounds this summer, and discuss what the Sixers need from Embiid in order to go far in the 2020 NBA playoffs -- with Pippen saying