His hug of Jokic was very brief. He wasn’t happy, understandably. But I would not call it poor sportsmanship. He paid his respects, albeit briefly. His post game interview, and I watched the whole thing even though I usually don’t, was poignant and he spoke to Jokic’s greatness.
With Carmelo’s retirement hanging in the air, and LeBron said that he shot that video a week ago so he knew Carmelo was going to retire but he didn’t know the exact day (his words), he was kind of assessing his overall career. He stopped short of saying the word retirement but that hung in the air.
Only thing I’ve seen is this. I don’t know what led up to it, but I’d argue Gordon is ejected if it happens the opposite way, instead of offsetting technicals.
A sweep clearly isn’t going to happen. But if it had, would Miami have been the first 8# seed to sweep a 2#-or-higher seed in the conference finals? Surprisingly dominant performance by a lowest-in-the-conference seed.
It was a physical game. Gordon’s defense on LeBron was good, but only in the second half. LeBron torched him in the first half. He torched the whole team.
I didn’t have a problem with that incident. I thought it was entirely in the spirit of a physical game.
I ran across this article yesterday, before Boston beat Miami. Thought it was interesting.
Since the NBA Playoffs began, 149 teams have faced a 3-0 series deficit in a seven-game postseason series. Of those teams, 14 have won at least two games while three have won three straight games to force a decisive Game 7. None have come back to win the series.
In 1998-1999, the NBA played a strike-shortened 50 game schedule. The Spurs finished as the #1 seed in the West, although they had the same record as the Jazz. San Antonio won the Western Conference playoff and advanced to the Finals. In the East, the Knicks finished as the #8 seed, although they were only six games behind the #1 seed. (3 teams tied for the best record in the conference.) The won the East playoff and went to the Finals. The Spurs defeated the Knicks 4 games to 1 in the Finals and won the championship,
Ah yes, the late Nineties, when the Heat-Knicks rivalry often looked more like WWE than NBA. (The Knicks upset the #1 Heat that year, which is why I bring it up).
Thanks for that. I was going by memory and thought it was the Spurs who won the two. But it was the Rockets. The Spurs did win it in ’99, though, so I was close.
ESPN is reporting that LeBron will complete his contract with the Lakers, which has one more season remaining. I didn’t think he was going to retire, but from the post game interview you could tell that he was contemplating it.
Seemed like a way to get people talking about anything besides getting swept. I think it is pretty much a given that he will stick around to hopefully play with his son.
I hope “Inside The NBA” survives another game! I fast-forward 90% of the games, but watch every second of the pre/post-game show, mostly for Barkley and Shaq.
Quite a game in Miami! I didn’t think the Heat could pull ahead, and still White forces the final. Announcer said this is the fourth time that a team has come back from three to force a seventh game. Boston is strong at home.