The Bulls did a good job against LBJ and Wade last night, holding that pair to a combined 12-of-30 (40 percent) from the floor. However, Chicago could not do anything with the third member of Miami’s “Big 3,” Chris Bosh. Bosh did miss his first three shots but then connected on 13 of his final 15, on the way to a 34-point night. LBJ finished with 22 points, six rebounds and 10 assists while Wade added 17 points, nine... Read more

Miami’s “Big 3” accounted for 83 points in its Game 4 win at Boston and when the Heat closed out the Celtics back in Miami in Game 5, the “Big 3” accounted for 81 points. Bosh, LBJ and Wade accounted for a total of just 63 points in Game 1 vs Chicago, as the Bulls routed the Heat 103-82. Miami's “Big 3” again scored 63 points in Game 2 last night but so many other things were different. First off, it was LBJ and Bosh... Read more

The second round of the this year’s NBA postseason closed Sunday afternoon with Oklahoma City beating Memphis 105-90 in the first two round’s lone Game 7. Home teams ended the first two rounds 46-19 SU (.707) with home dogs going 7-6-1 and after a very slow start in the first round, home favorites are now 24-25-2. That made all home teams 31-31-3 ATS after 65 games. Under bettors went 26-17 (60.5 percent) in the first... Read more

Oklahoma City led Memphis 54-44 at the half in Game 6 last Friday night but got ‘run over’ 28-14 in the third quarter, as the Grizz tied the series at three-all with a 95-83 win. Randolph rebounded from his worst game of the postseason in Game 5 with 30 points and 13 rebounds while Mayo added 16 from the backcourt, in his first start of the playoffs. Meanwhile, Durant, this year’s top playoff scorer, made just 3-of-14... Read more

The Hawks surprised many by taking their first round series from the Magic in six games. They then shocked almost all, by beating the Bulls in Chicago 103-95 in the first game of their semifinal series. However, the Hawks were able to win just one game after that (100-88 in Game 4). The final ‘dagger’ came last night, as the Bulls won convincingly in Atlanta, 93-73. The Hawks connected on just 36.5 percent of their shots... Read more

LBJ’s season was ended last year by the Celtics, as his Cavs lost embarrassingly at home in Game 5 by a score of 120-88 and then went meekly in Game 6 with a 94-85 loss. Amid much fanfare, King James “took his talents to South Beach” over the summer, joining Chris Bosh (a Toronto refugee) and Dwayne Wade (already in the Miami fold) to create the team to beat (and hate) for the 2010-11 season. The Heat won Game 4 of this... Read more

The Bulls led by as many as 15 points in the first quarter but actually trailed 70-69 early in the fourth last night, before a 9-0 run allowed them to take control. Chicago would outscore Atlanta 26-15 in the quarter and win, 95-83. As I pointed out in Tuesday’s journal, of the previous 159 series tied at two-all in NBA playoff history, the Game 5 winner has gone on to win just under 84 percent of those best-of-seven... Read more

There was plenty excitement in last night’s games, as the Heat needed overtime to take a 3-1 lead in their series against the Celtics while the Thunder and Grizzlies went three overtimes before settling their Game 4 and leaving the series tied at two-all. Both home teams lost, making them are 9-7 SU and ATS in the second round, after going 32-11 SU and just 17-23-3 ATS in the first round. The Celtics lost as a home underdog... Read more

“I might be sick in the head or crazy or thrown off or something like that, but I still think we are going to win this series,” Bryant said after the Lakers blew a fourth quarter lead in a Game 3 loss to the Mavericks. “I might be nuts. Win on Sunday. Go back home and see if they can win in L.A.” When asked where that confidence comes from, the five-time NBA champion said: “I don’t know. I’m just nuts.” After LA’s performance... Read more

The Celtics and Lakers met in last year’s NBA Finals. It was the 12th all-time meeting for the league's two most storied franchises. Boston won the first eight meetings (the first seven of which came no later than 1969), LA the next two ('85 and '87) and then after a 21-season gap, the Celtics made it 9-2 all-time vs the Lakers by winning the title in 2008. LA closed the gap to 9-3 in favor of Boston by winning the title... Read more