Tuesday NBA Playoff News and Notes

Tuesday, May 02, 2006  

The 2006 NBA Game of the Year goes Tuesday night Chicago-Miami among three NBA winners. LATE STEAM: We added three night MLB including a Wise Guy to go with the huge day card. We have picks on all four day games including three Wise Guy plays.  We have an NHL Wise Guy and we are not done yet. Late steam is inclusive in the price which is sent upon completion later in the morning.

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NBA

Pacers-Nets

Journal News

Neither team has won two in a row in the series, but the Nets’ 97-88 win in Game 4 might prove to be a watershed game. The Nets’ attacking offense, led by Vince Carter, left Nenad Krstic wide-open for a 10-for-16 shooting performance. Defensively, they held the Pacers to 6 of 18 in the first and third quarters, got Jermaine O’Neal in foul trouble and slowed Anthony Johnson (12 points) and Stephen Jackson (13 points).

Newark Star Ledger

One number the Nets and Pacers will be thinking about: In the history of seven-game series that were tied at 2-2, the winner of Game 5 wins the series 83.6 percent of the time (107-21).

Bulls-Heat

Daily Herald

Thanks to consecutive wins at the United Center, the playoff series between the Bulls and the favored Miami Heat is tied at 2-2. The scene shifts back to South Florida for a pivotal Game 5 tonight at American Airlines Arena. Chandler’s status is in doubt. He wore a walking boot on his right leg after landing awkwardly and turning the ankle with about 30 seconds left in Sunday’s 93-87 victory. Even if Chandler decides to play, it’s probably safe to assume he won’t be at full speed. So the Bulls are expecting to find some alternate defenders for Heat center Shaquille O’Neal, whose playing time was limited by foul trouble in Games 3 and 4. Starter Michael Sweetney figures to get more minutes if he can keep away from fouls. Malik Allen, Othella Harrington and rookie Luke Schenscher are the other logical options. The Bulls have found success by spreading the court and attacking Miami’s weak perimeter defenders. That strategy helped create O’Neal’s foul problems because the Bulls guards are finding free lanes to the basket. Skiles identified turnovers as his team’s greatest concern. They had a combined 35 in the first two games of the series, even though the Heat ranked 28^th in the league this season in causing turnovers.

Kings-Spurs

Sacramento Bee

From defensive issues to offensive fixes, the Kings have seemingly righted their wrongs. After allowing the Spurs to hit 23 three-pointers in the first two games, San Antonio has hit just nine since the Kings made the perimeter a priority. The feared byproduct was an explosion by Spurs forward Tim Duncan. But though he’s only rarely being double-covered, Duncan has scored more than 17 points just once (29 in Game 3), a credit to aggressive defense by Kenny Thomas, Brad Miller and Shareef Abdur-Rahim. After forgetting the beating they took in Game 1, the Kings seemed to remember how they won 26 of their final 40 regular-season games - with defense and, in part, with the help of Brad Miller. They gave up a combined 250 points in the first two games, only to return to the defensive ways sparked by Ron Artest and allow 177 in the last two. Then, after being pleased to learn that the Spurs have no answer for the offensive attacks of Bonzi Wells, Artest and - at times - Abdur-Rahim, Miller returned to his old self.

Lakers-Suns

Scorephone.com

The Phoenix Suns try stave off elimination tonight, as they host the Los Angeles Lakers at US Airways Center in Game 5 of their first-round series. The Lakers own a 3-1 lead in this best-of-seven series. The Lakers have lost two straight Game 5s in the postseason. They have won 13 of their last 14 contests when they have the chance to eliminate their opponent. Phoenix has lost six of its last seven Game 5s in the playoffs. The Suns have lost four of their last five outings when facing elimination. The Suns have never comeback from a 3-1 deficit to win a playoff series.