Good morning, let’s preview the NBA playoffs
Playoff basketball is one day away.
Good morning. Let’s basketball.
PREVIEWS GALORE: SB Nation’s ridiculously comprehensive playoffs preview rolled out on Thursday. See our previews for each team here. In addition, more goodies (and continuing coverage throughout the postseason) can be found at each of the following series hubs. (And more is coming on Friday.)
Pacers vs. Hawks | Heat vs. Bobcats | Raptors vs. Nets | Bulls vs. Wizards
Spurs vs. Mavs | Thunder vs. Grizzlies | Clippers vs. Warriors | Rockets vs. Blazers
DRAFT NEWS: Jabari Parker is in! He actually explained why he entered the draft for an SI.com piece.
MELO PROGNOSTICATING: Carmelo Anthony spoke to the media on Thursday. It does not look good for the Knicks.
TOP SERIES TO WATCH: The Daily Win advocates for a few must-watch first-round series. Whither Pacers-Hawks?
BOSTON’S NECESSARY LOSSES: Paul Flannery with a perfect eulogy to the Celtics’ season, and a preview of the fireworks to come.
THAT BUCKS PRICETAG: Matt Yglesias from Vox.com connects that $550 million purchase price for the Bucks to the 2011 collective bargaining agreement and generalized income inequality.
THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE: And the numbers say we’re headed toward a Finals rematch ... with the Spurs winning this time.
OLD KOBE MEETS YOUNG KOBE: The brilliant, demented mind of Jon Bois decided to pair 1998 Kobe with 2014 Kobe in the latest episode of NBA Y2K. It went about as well as you’d imagine.
MAYBE THERE’S STILL TIME TO CANCEL THE PLAYOFFS: That inexorable Pitbull/Ke$ha song “Timber” has been updated with a new Pitbull verse about shooting hoops ... and will apparently be all over ESPN/ABC’s playoff coverage. I told you to be careful what you wished for, Lincoln!
BEST WISHES TO CRAIG SAGER: ... who will reportedly undergo treatment for leukemia over the next few weeks. He’ll be missed on the sidelines, but we have no doubt he’ll come back strong.
LEE JENKINS ALERT: A Joakim Noah profile.
DEANDRE JORDAN AS CHARLES BARKLEY: DAJ and Blake Griffin do a table read of the Space Jam script, and Jordan steals the show.
SOMEWHAT FRIGHTENING AND TOTALLY INTRIGUING: Using behavioral analytics in draft evaluation.
UNDER THE SPORTVU MICROSCOPE: NBA.com is using SportVu data to take really close looks at defensive matchups in the first round. For example, here’s the Spurs-Mavs breakdown. Very cool stuff.
T-MAC’S DEBUT! Tracy McGrady pitched one inning for the Sugar Land Skeeters. He gave up three hits and one run.
Reminder: you’ll be seeing GMIB in your inbox on Saturday and Sunday, too. Happy Friday. See you next time.
