Basketball

SAN ANTONIO - Surprise, surprise, the Los Angeles Lakers made it to the Western Conference finals.

INDIANAPOLIS — Carmelo Anthony was finally having his bust-out game, carrying 35 points into the fourth quarter. Melo went bust in the final period, though, and the Knicks season went right along with him. The Pacers are headed to South Beach with a 106-99 Game 6 victory in Game 6 last...

May 14, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich during the post game interview of game five of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at the AT Recently Air Alamo Lead Editor, Michael Rehome, had a chance to interview co-founder Jeff Garcia of Project Spurs. We asked him some tough questions about the upcoming Spurs/Grizzlies series. Here’s what he had to say. Michael Rehome: First off, tell us a little bit about yourself for fans that do not know whom Jeff Garcia is? Jeff Garcia: I am the co-founder and Content Manager at Project Spurs.com. I am also the host of the Project Spurs-News 4 San Antonio Spurs Roundtable TV Show and having been covering the Spurs for way too long. Ha. MR: The San Antonio Spurs/Memphis Grizzlies will be a great one we all know. Who do you feel has to be that player for both teams to carry them to a series victory and onto the NBA Finals? JG: For Memphis, Mike Conley. He has been a thorn in the Spurs’ side for seasons and will once again have to cause problems for the Spurs. In the post season he has been stepping up in his stats across the board and if he gets going, he can be a handful for Tony Parker and the Spurs’ defense. If he starts knocking down shots that will only free up space for Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph to do some serious damage on San Antonio’s frontline. Here is Mike’s line versus the Spurs this season: 18 points, 5.5 assists, 46% shooting from the field, 90% from the free-throw line and snagged 9 boards. For San Antonio,Tiago Splitter. Tim Duncan, and Tony Parker will have their plate full contending with Marc Gasol and Mike Conley but there is also Zach Randolph who will prove to be an issue. Gasol is playing great this postseason but against the Spurs in the regular season Z-Bo scored 14.3 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and handed out 1.5 assists in four games versus the Spurs. Now granted, both Duncan and Splitter will more than likely take turns guarding Z-Bo but if Splitter can lighten the load in the paint for TD, get Gasol and Randolph in foul trouble, and make those two bigs work defensively, then the Spurs will have a great shot at winning the battle in the paint and the series. MR: There are many people to take the Memphis Grizzlies over the San Antonio Spurs because of their bigs. Do you think this is a cause of concern for San Antonio? JG: Absolutely. The two combined for 28 points, 16 rebounds, 5 blocks, shot 43.5% versus the Spurs in 4 games this regular season. Needless to say they cause issues for the Spurs. However, the Spurs already dealt with two other solid bigs (Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol) in the postseason, so hopefully this will help them in the WCF. MR: Mike Conley has stepped up his play in the playoffs, especially during the Thunder series. Do you see him having the same success against Tony Parker? JG: The series will more than likely come down to these to players. In six postseason games, head-to-head TP is averaging 19.7 points versus Conley’s 14.3 points. Parker is shooting 46% against Conley’s 39%. And though Parker may have on the individual battle, Conley and Memphis hold a 4-2 postseason record against the Spurs. MR: Kawhi Leonard is becoming a star before our eyes. How much do you think his nagging knee problems will effect him this series? JG: It will and it is something to be concerned about for San Antonio. Without him, they lose offense and defense, youthfulness, athleticism, and a reliable three-point shooter. But he is young, and everyone still playing is banged up. Just fight through it Kawhi! MR: We all can remember back to 2011 when Memphis eliminated San Antonio from the Playoffs. Do you see this years Grizzlies team better than that team or the same? JG: A bit better. They got more playoff experience, added veteran leadership with Tayshaun Prince, have rallied without Rudy Gay, and Gasol and Randolph have only gotten better. M

Depth on our teem really affected the Blazers this season. The team started to dip after the all star break and never really could get a good contribution from the bench. So using the draft to get depth is most important to look for first. I think the Blazers should sign and trade JJ Hickson for the 5th or 6th pick depending on the outcome of the lottery and should draft Victor Oladipo. The reason is he brings a defensive spark off the bench. He is a solid finisher at the rim, improved jump shooter and good motor. Now with the 10th pick we should draft Rudy Gobert. He brings a defensive presence in the paint and if he bulks up he could be a Tyson Chandler type player for the Blazers. Not saying he will for sure but saying he could have that potential. His shot blocking and his huge wing span should really help the Blazers with there paint defense. Rudy and Meyers can duke it out for the starting spot and they could bring back the "twin towers" saying. With the 39th pick we should target Isaiah Canaan. He will bring a lot of offence off the bench with his 48% 3 point shooter. With the last 2 picks we have in the 2nd round we trade them both for future late first round pick. Now signing free agent signing time. First we try and resign Maynor with the offer of 3 years and 10 million. Then offer E-Will 1 year and 2 million contract. Now maybe get Jermaine Oneal who can mentor both Rudy and Meyers a little bit. He will also be able to fill minutes when Aldridge is resting and just in case a injury occurs with one of our bigs. I would not offer more then 3 million a year. So 2 year 6 million contract offer and i doubt anyone will match it. Damian Lillard/ Maynor/ Canaan Wesley Matthews/ E. Williams/ Barton Nicolas Batum/ Oladipo/ Claver Lamarcus Aldridge/ J. Oneal/ Freeland Meyers Leonard/ Gorbert Depth on our teem really affected the Blazers this season. The team started to dip after the all star break and never really could get a good contribution from the bench. So using the draft to get depth is most important to look for first. I think the Blazers should sign and trade JJ Hickson for the 5th or 6th pick depending on the outcome of the lottery and should draft Victor Oladipo. The reason is he brings a defensive spark off the bench. He is a solid finisher at the rim, improved jump shooter and good motor. Now with the 10th pick we should draft Rudy Gobert. He brings a defensive presence in the paint and if he bulks up he could be a Tyson Chandler type player for the Blazers. Not saying he will for sure but saying he could have that potential. His shot blocking and his huge wing span should really help the Blazers with there paint defense. Rudy and Meyers can duke it out for the starting spot and they could bring back the "twin towers" saying. With the 39th pick we should target Isaiah Canaan. He will bring a lot of offence off the bench with his 48% 3 point shooter. With the last 2 picks we have in the 2nd round we trade them both for future late first round pick. Now signing free agent signing time. First we try and resign Maynor with the offer of 3 years and 10 million. Then offer E-Will 1 year and 2 million contract. Now maybe get Jermaine Oneal who can mentor both Rudy and Meyers a little bit. He will also be able to fill minutes when Aldridge is resting and just in case a injury occurs with one of our bigs. I would not offer more then 3 million a year. So 2 year 6 million contract offer and i doubt anyone will match it. Damian Lillard/ Maynor/ Canaan Wesley Matthews/ E. Williams/ Barton Nicolas Batum/ Oladipo/ Claver Lamarcus Aldridge/ J. Oneal/ Freeland Meyers Leonard/ Gorbert Poll Thoughts? No. Yes. Maybe just not the draft ideas. Not the free agent idea. Scratch it all. 2 votes | Results

HERO Brooklyn’s own Lance Stephenson was tremendous last night, racking up 25 points and 10 rebounds. The Pacers shooting guard and Lincoln High grad poured in nine points in the fourth quarter as the Pacers staved off the Knicks. ZERO Raymond Felton had a terrific postseason, but shot 0-for-7...

The Oklahoma City Thunder watched their season go down like a sinking ship this week, as the hungry and tenacious Memphis Grizzlies put an end to it all by winning the decisive Game 5 on the Thunder's home court. This ending was not what we Thunder fans had in mind after watching Kevin Durant walk off the Miami court last year and fall into the arms of his parents, weeping unashamed. Even if that teary ending was not what we hoped for, at least it made sense. These playoffs though, they did not make sense. Instead of peace, we're only left with frustration and a longing for what could have been but never shall be. To break it all down, we return to Eleanor Roosevelt one final time to set up the framework. "Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people." - Eleanor Roosevelt We at WTLC shall endeavor to conquer all three and in the process hope to be made hole again as we hope the team will be in time. I. THE PEOPLE From OKC Kevin Durant: Durant, more than any other player, was profoundly effected by the loss of Russell Westbrook. It was upon him now to not only score the bulk of points, but to run the offense, set up his teammates, play 45 minutes a game, and defend the likes of Tayshaun Prince Marc Gasol. In other words, Durant was expected to play the LeBron James role on both ends of the court for the first time in his career. To Durant's benefit, his downside risk was limited, but the upside opportunity to carve out a legacy was profound. Reggie Jackson: Jackson was charged with filling the Westbrook role full time heading into Memphis. Precariously, we all wondered how he would stand up to the intense Grizzlies defensive pressure. They are the best at forcing the other team into high turnover games, and for a player who was used to playing only 18 minutes a game against the 2nd unit of other teams, he was about to experience something entirely new. They don't play defense like this at Virginia Tech. Scott Brooks: Brooks suffered a very shaky opening round as the Thunder took a few games to adjust to the lack of Westbrook. Actually, check that. They once again did not know how to deal with a smallball line-up. Brooks' match-ups were plagued by two Rockets bench guys and a 2nd round draft pick that seems to morph into Scottie Pippen every time the Thunder play the Rockets. While the Grizz are a little bit more of a classic match-up of bigs and guards, Brooks still needed to do a better job at recognizing and exploiting places in the game during a series where offense would be at a premium. Russell Westbrook: This series was also a referendum on a guy who would not even be playing. If the Thunder won, questions about Westbrook's value to the team would loom large. If they lost, his value would be recognized, but only at the expense of his tight-knit team. In any event, the only sign we'd see of the HAM Badger would be sitting in a box seat with his leg in a cast. From Memphis Zach Randolph: Every time I watch Z-Bo, I think about a bare-knuckled brawler from the 1920's. If you watch him play in the post, whether he's backing a guy down or facing him up by sticking his melon inside some poor bloke's chest, he's exercising a game of subtle variations. It is only pretty if you consider a boxer's body blows or an MMA fighter's inside holds pretty. How would the Thunder deal with him? Marc Gasol: Gasol, the newly minted Defensive Player of the Year, is a guy whose art is also in his subtlety. Unlike Randolph, his sense is in how to act as the conductor. To be sure his own offensive and defensive talents are considerable, but as guys like Zach Lowe has written ad nauseum, Gasol possesses a certain Bill Walton-like sense for the flow of the game. He could play with just about anyone, and make anyone play better. Mike Conley: The biggest reason why I'm a Conley fan is because when he came into the league (#4 pick a year before Westbrook) he was about as limited as Reggie Jackson.

INDIANAPOLIS — The room was as quiet as you would want it to be. You weren’t suffering alone last night when the shots stopped falling and the season started sputtering and the game veered irretrievably south. Wherever you watched the Knicks tumble into the abyss — living room, man cave, saloon...

INDIANAPOLIS — After being benched for the second half for the second straight playoff game, Amar’e Stoudemire is confused with his role with the Knicks going forward.His injury-wracked season never included a single start and ended with coach Mike Woodson not trusting the $100 million man after the first...

INDIANAPOLIS — Following the Knicks’ 106-99 ouster by the Pacers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals last night, center Tyson Chandler was asked why the Knicks never seemed to get back to their early-season form, when they were one of the NBA’s brightest stories. “I don’t know...

INDIANAPOLIS — After it ended, J.R. Smith said he looked at his Knicks jersey and thought about how he doesn’t want to leave New York.“I want to retire a Knick,” said Smith, who can opt out of his contract this offseason, in the aftermath of the Knicks’ season-ending...