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With the 2009-2010 playoffs over, it was time for one final look back on certain, players, teams, and events of the season, before turning our undivided attention towards 2010-2011. To make sense of Kobe Bryant, the Celtics, Tyreke Evans, and last year’s acquisitions, I’ve assembled an all-star team of Bleacherreport writers, Andrew Ungvari, Robert Kleeman, Harrison Moore, and Hadarii Jones, for their expertise on the NBA world. You can read part ...

It sure wasn’t pretty, but championships are earned more through sweat and willpower than anything aesthetic. When everything was said and done, the Los Angeles Lakers emerged from the Boston Celtics’ defensive furnace as champions, grinding out an 83-79 victory in the decisive seventh game of the series. How the Lakers won was a surprise, coming back from a 13-point second half deficit to silence many of the ...

Throughout the second half of Los Angeles’ 91-84 Game Two victory over the Boston Celtics, the Lakers offense struggled to work. Ray Allen played Kobe Bryant looser before Kobe initiated his attacks, allowing Bryant to take and miss many contested jumpers. Ray Allen was still able to crowd Kobe on his drives, but because of Kobe’s superior athleticism, still sank several contested, but not super-contested shots. Tony Allen, however, ...

After a dismal performance in Game Three, it was interesting to see how the Denver Nuggets would approach Game Four in order to steal a road win and recapture control of their first round series with the Utah Jazz. However, aside from a too-little, too-late rally when Utah let its guard down—a near disaster given Denver’s ability to score in a broken field—the Nuggets were once again throttled in ...

The Utah Jazz’s 105-93 Game Three victory over the Denver Nuggets was revealing in the truths unveiled by each participant with one caveat—the 12-point difference in the final score was an untruth in that Utah was much more dominant than the Nuggets after the game’s initial 10 minutes. Truth: Paul Millsap eviscerated the Denver Nuggets Reason: Because Utah had so much success running screen/fades with Deron Williams ...

Throughout the years, the San Antonio Spurs have never had an answer for Dirk Nowitzki—nor did they in Game One’s 100-94 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Dirk usually set up on either elbow, planted himself, caught the ball and either hit rise-and-fire jumpers, one-dribble pull-ups, and got to the line whenever he drove to the basket. Antonio McDyess offered minimal resistance on Dirk‘s jumpers, the landlocked Matt ...

Many prognosticators believe that with the peaking Miami Heat and fading Boston Celtics traveling in opposing directions, their series will be prime for a first round upset. For roughly the first 30 minutes of their game one matchup, it looked like the Heat would confirm the suspicions of those expecting a quiet Celtic spring. But then reality set in and Boston ultimately prevailed 85-76, less on the ...

With the Orlando Magic and Dallas Mavericks each residing in second place in their respective conferences, the tilt between the Magic and Mavs is a good barometer to measure the playoff preparedness of each second seeded squad. Which team is a serious threat to its conference’s king, and which is doomed to being second fiddle come the playoffs? Whereas Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic answered the challenge ...

Throughout the middle portions of the decade, the San Antonio Spurs were a powerhouse, capturing three titles during the middle of the 2000s to add to the one they captured in 1999. And it’s hard to forget the Boston Celtics’ championship captured the season before last. But as the Lakers, Cavs, and Magic have ascended to the NBA’s forefront, Boston and San Antonio have played like eidolons of ...

In his heyday, Elton Brand was a dominant scorer from the high and low post, a voracious rebounder, and as his career progressed, a solid defender both on the ball and from the weakside. However, injuries and age have left Brand a shell of his former self, leaving the Philadelphia 76ers on the hook for Brand's gargantuan contract he signed during the 2008 offseason. Let’s use Philadelphia’s latest ...