Yes, true as Tyronn Lue, this Finals screams of the 2001 NBA Finals, and that summer. Allen Iverson and the Sixers step over the Lakers in Game 1, skinny ties come back, Conan hosts SNL, you are the weakest link, all that shit. Massive underdog from the East waltzes into
We've heard nervous crowds, right? Chatting among themselves, one-in-four attending know-it-alls telling their four-person group all about the ways in which the visitors could win the game, break the hearts, ruin the night. Every group has that guy, Oklahoma City's Game 1 crowd would seem to
Are the two most-entertaining NBA teams meeting in the league's Finals? Appears as if this is the case. A real rip an' roll series, flying up and down the field, reminds me of the time the 1994 Chargers took on Steve Young and his Niners in the
There are three great Pacer teams in Indiana's NBA history, they are all late risers, they do not go down easily. The mid-1990s teams were very good, not great. The 1998 Pacers ran Chicago to seven games in 1998, they were great, the near-champions who lost the 2000
The only people the Pacers let down on Thursday night were those who already wrote their column. The one sending Indiana to its first NBA Finals in a quarter-century with a win in New York, over the franchise which hasn't hit a Finals since the last century. The
The only good image to come out of Minnesota's Game 5 loss in Oklahoma City was the end, Anthony Edwards emerging from his bench after sitting the final 6:35 of the contest, congratulating his victors cheerily. Heartily, pleasantly and authentically, tongue outside cheek. It wasn't
Wolves fans went down 0-2 last week and thought they spotted a low point. Low point? Timberwolves fans, trying to tell us about low points? A mini-comeback falls short on the road against the best team in basketball, low point? Minnesota returns home for two games with an 0-2 deficit,
Indiana realized rather early in Game 2 that the Pacers weren't expected to beat the Knicks twice on Friday. Only had to beat New York once, in Game 2, to earn that 2-0 lead. Did not require lifting the enormity of the scope of a 2-0 series advantage
NO. 3 KNICKS VS. NO. 4 PACERS New York took two of three meetings from Indiana, winning once at home and once in Indianapolis and losing to the Pacers at home during a November matinee. Of course, a lot has changed since November. NEW YORK C: Karl-Anthony Towns – Knick legend
NO. 1 THUNDER VS. NO. 6 TIMBERWOLVES The Thunder beat the Wolves on New Year's Eve. That isn't code. The teams played each other thrice in February, a home-and-home scheduled 24 hours and 800 miles apart (two good games, road team won each time). Minnesota won
The Knicks, safe to say, are goin' for it. All those first-round picks for Mikal Bridges, who wouldn't check himself out of a Turkish prison if given the option. Bridges performs as if aware of the package New York let loose for him, he appreciates the commitment
Howdy. The playoffs are great. They should extend each of these series to best-of nine, give everyone a few days off to get healthy. Also I think three-point shooters should have to have a foot on the line for the three-pointer to count, like a base to touch, but that&