Video: Stephen Curry deposits crucial floaters over Denver
The Golden State Warriors have taken a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference quarterfinals series with the Denver Nuggets.
Despite losing David Lee, the Warriors have been further propelled by the inspired play of point guard Stephen Curry.
On Friday, Curry scored 29 points and had 11 rebounds.
This video showcases his ball-handling skills and his soft touch while going to the rim.
The post Video: Stephen Curry deposits crucial floaters over Denver appeared first on Players View.
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Lakers survive Kobe Bryant injury in crucial victory
Pau Gasol steps up for a triple-double in a dark moment in the Lakers’ ugly season.
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Locking Up the No. 2 Seed Is Crucial for the New York Knicks’ Playoff Chances
With the New York Knicks already clinching the Atlantic Division title, they are already guaranteed a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs. The worst they can finish is third this year, which would guarantee them home-court advantage in the first round.
Currently, the Knicks lead the Indiana Pacers for the No. 2 seed by two-and-a-half games, and they will have a crucial game against them at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, which may decide any seeding issues between the two squads.
The Knicks’ last five games include two remaining home games, which are against Indiana on Sunday and Atlanta on Wednesday. The three remaining away games are against Chicago tonight, Cleveland tomorrow and Charlotte on Monday.
The Pacers wrap up their season with one home game against Brooklyn on Friday, followed by three away games—New York, Boston and Philadelphia.
Both squads have some games against playoff teams.
In order to position themselves for an easier trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks need to wrap up the No. 2 seed, because they will likely have to beat the Pacers to get there, and they ought to have home-court advantage against them. Also, they can set themselves up with a weaker first-round opponent.
The Pacers currently have the best home record in the East, just a game ahead of the Knicks. On the road, however, Indiana is currently a game under .500, whereas the Knicks have the second best road record in their division behind Miami.
This isn’t just a coincidence.
Indiana clearly plays much better during home games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse than anywhere else, outscoring their opponents by 7.2 points per game in Indianapolis. Away, that differential goes down to +1.9, mostly because they don’t score as much.
The Knicks, on the other hand, are a bit more balanced. Although not as efficient defensively as the tough Pacers, their offense led by Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith is much more potent than the likes of Paul George and George Hill.
Clearly, with New York being a better road team than Indiana, but the Pacers being a very tough team at home, it is preferable to get the No. 2 seed with the possibility of a Game 7 to get to the finals. Obviously, the Knicks would much rather have that situation be at Madison Square Garden than Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Seeding implications make Sunday’s game pretty important. The Knicks beat the Pacers at the Garden in November, but the Indiana ran New York out of the building twice at its house in Indy. A win by the Pacers would give them the season series win and the tie-breaker. A win by the Knicks will all but seal the deal for them.
Another benefit of getting the No. 2 seed is the better odds of winning in the first round. Currently, the Knicks are on pace to meet the Boston Celtics in Round 1. The Pacers are either going to face off against the Atlanta Hawks or their arch-nemeses the Chicago Bulls.
The Knicks are a better matchup against Boston than Chicago, as the Bulls, without Derrick Rose, have been able to bully the Knicks and on their own home turf (twice). In an ugly loss late last December at MSG, both teams lost their cool as the officials ejected Anthony, Tyson Chandler, coach Mike Woodson and the Bulls’ Joakim Noah.
Chicago is 3-0 against New York going for the sweep tonight at the United Center, so the Knicks clearly want nothing to do with them, preferring the Bulls play either Brooklyn or Indiana.
On the other hand, New York has been more than able to take care of the aging Celtics, who are likely not going to move up or down in seeding at the end of the regular season three games ahead of Milwaukee two-and-a-half games
The Knicks determined to get as far in the playoffs as possible, with the franchise’s and city’s first basketball title in 40 years on their minds. In order to get there, the best case scenario would be to get the No. 2 seed to guarantee them home-court advantage through the first two rounds.
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Kobe Bryant pours in 47 for crucial Lakers win
Lakers moved one game ahead of idle Jazz for eighth in the West with three games left.
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Kobe Bryant moves up all-time scoring list as Lakers get crucial win
Bryant passed Wilt Chamberlain on the all-time list as the Lakers picked up a crucial win.
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Did Bill Self’s crucial error cost Kansas an Elite Eight trip?
Bill Self made a questionable decision to not foul Michigan with the Jayhawks late.
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Nuggets vs. Spurs: San Antonio Must Start Crucial Homestand off with Big Win
The Denver Nuggets head to San Antonio on Wednesday, looking to begin a new winning streak after their 15-game run was snapped on Monday night in New Orleans. But for the hometown San Antonio Spurs, protecting their home court is of the utmost importance, as they begin one of the toughest three-game homestands in the NBA this season.
Given the rest of their schedule this week, losing is not an option.
After the Spurs face Denver, they’ll take on the Los Angeles Clippers, who currently rank fourth in the Western Conference, on Friday. Then, on Sunday, they’ll attempt to halt the Miami Heat’s winning streak at 30—provided that the Chicago Bulls or New Orleans Hornets don’t do it first.
For them to come out of the AT&T Arena with three victories, the Spurs need to start off strong, bringing their A-game against the Nuggets and relying on that momentum to pull them through.
To start, they’ll need to put their 96-95 loss to the state-rival Houston Rockets on Sunday behind them by coming out of the gate hot. San Antonio was outscored in both the first and third quarters on Sunday, going into the fourth quarter against Houston down 74-67.
Playing against a team like Denver, which ranks third in the league with 105.7 points per game, means that the Spurs won’t want to play from behind.
The other key struggle for the Spurs will be holding onto the ball. Against the Rockets, San Antonio turned the ball over 18 times. With an average of 15.9 opponent turnovers per game, the Nuggets rank third in the league in that category.
In short, all of the places where the Spurs struggled on Sunday are where Denver can take advantage of them on their home court on Wednesday.
If things don’t go well for San Antonio, winning the next two games, even on their home court, will prove difficult. The Spurs haven’t lost two consecutive games since December 17 and 18, and the two times they’ve lost twice in a row were both on the road.
But if they’ve already lost two in a row, going up against the Clippers—who beat the Spurs in their first two meetings, including once in San Antonio—and the Heat, who have taken the teams’ only meeting thus far, could turn that into a four-game losing streak. If that happens, it would open the door for the Oklahoma City Thunder, 1.5 games behind the Spurs heading into Wednesday and gearing up to play two lightweights in the Wizards and Timberwolves, to take over the Western Conference lead.
But a win against Denver would go a long way towards eliminating that possibility. From there, San Antonio will have the momentum to beat the Clippers, who they destroyed 116-90 in Los Angeles in February. And having taken down two of the league’s best teams, they’ll be as prepared as anyone to make a run at ending Miami’s epic winning streak.
For more from Christopher Leone, follow @christopherlion on Twitter.
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Al Horford, Hawks hand Bucks another crucial loss
Milwaukee blew a big lead and cost themselves a game in their hunt for the seventh seed.
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Jeremy Lin’s Homecoming a Crucial Showcase for Rockets’ PG
The Houston Rockets play the Golden State Warriors tonight, but it is more than just another game for starting point guard Jeremy Lin. This game is also a homecoming for him, as he grew up in nearby Palo Alto and also had a brief stint with Golden State in 2010, and a big game would mean a lot for both his team and himself.
This is an opportunity for Lin to play in front of his family, friends and hometown fans, and a big game would be huge for the Harvard grad, win or lose. Playing for a team is one thing, but playing in front of family and friends is on a completely different level.
Lin has already faced the Warriors once this season, on February 5, and had a fine game in what was a record-tying performance for the Rockets. In a 140-109 victory, Lin had 28 points and nine assists, making 10 of 16 shots and sinking five three-pointers.
That performance was the definition of Linsanity, something that Lin has struggled to capture all season long. He has posted just 12.5 points and 6.1 assists while shooting 44 percent from the field and 32 percent from long range. Lin’s defense has been fine at 1.9 steals per game, but the fact that he has been so inconsistent on offense does not really justify the three-year deal he signed with Houston in July.
Just the same, Lin is in a prime position to have an excellent game against his hometown Golden State Warriors tonight. Both teams are offense-oriented and like to play a run-and-gun offense, and we all know that the point guard is king in that system.
It may be tough against a rowdy Golden State crowd, but Lin needs to get over that and just think about the support system he will have in the stands. From his parents to friends to fans, there is really no reason that he should not have a solid game against the Warriors.
This means that he cannot show any hesitation whatsoever when he is on the court. If he sees an opening and an opportunity to drive the lane, he must take it. If he sees an open teammate, he must dish off the pass.
If he is open in three-point territory, he must demand the ball and take the shot.
The fact of the matter is that Houston has won three of five, and Golden State has lost four in a row. The Rockets are going to be out to take full advantage of the situation, but they cannot do so without a solid performance from Lin.
He’s going to have to dig deep and find the Linsanity, as the Rockets rank eighth in the highly competitive Western Conference and hold that spot by just two games. With Houston’s hot-and-cold nature that has existed all season, an average game is simply not an option for Lin tonight.
Simply put, he needs to have a great game not only for himself and his hometown fans, but for his team. Houston is 5-3 when Lin scores 20 or more points, and that win total can increase tonight.
It’s just a matter of Lin taking everything in at the start, and then shaking it off to just play the game. Should he be able to execute all of his opportunities, it will be a fine homecoming for him as well as a great victory for the Rockets.
Otherwise, he has a long way to go in proving that Linsanity was more than just a brief fad.
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Dwight Howard Airballs Free Throw at Crucial Moment of Lakers-Heat Game (Video)
The Los Angeles Lakers needed Dwight Howard to step up. Trailing by two points with under two minutes to go against the defending champion Heat, Howard was at the line shooting two free throws to tie the game.
Instead, he airballed the first and bricked the second. The Heat ended up pulling away from the Lakers at that point, and L.A. never scored again the rest of the way in a 99-90 loss.
Check out Howard’s most un-clutch of shots in the video below.
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