![]() ![]() This is Spoelstra’s third conference finals in four years – all against Boston. Mazzulla, in his first conference finals as head coach, then found himself going brain-to-brain with Erik Spoelstra. By the playoffs, Boston curiously struggled to put away an inconsistent Hawks team in the first round and had a 3-2 second-round series hole against the 76ers. Then, things slightly waned towards the end of the season. Mazzulla looked like the wunderkind who would coach the Celtics for a very long time. Almost instantly, the Celtics handled it well and cruised to first out East for much of the season. Mazzulla was placed into a chaotic situation once Ime Udoka departed in the fall. ![]() The discourse around Boston’s disappointing conference finals effort and the blame being thrown at coach Joe Mazzulla has been fascinating. It will be the city’s first time hosting the event since 1985. The All-Star Game will return to Indianapolis in 2024. During all six games under the player draft format, LeBron James has captained one of the teams. Prior to 2018, the All-Star Game was East versus West.These fixes could come for the 2023-24 season. The NBA and NBPA agreed in recent months to discuss increased competitiveness in the All-Star Game as part of a new collective bargaining agreement, sources said.Changes to the All-Star Game format have been discussed at recent Board of Governor and general manager meetings.The NBA is considering altering the All-Star Game format from the current player draft back to Eastern versus Western Conference, among other concepts, sources briefed on discussions have told The Athletic. In case you missed it, over the weekend, Mike Vorkunov and I reported on a major change – or a change back – to the NBA’s All-Star Game format. And it’s going to be brilliant basketball. We’re on the brink of a Nuggets-Heat NBA Finals – a 1 seed against an 8 seed. The Nuggets’ impressive defense continues to be more and more solidified. Everything LA did in round two against the Splash Brothers is null and void. The Lakers’ great defense can’t stop the Nuggets from making 3-pointers. Both the Lakers and Celtics are screwed. The Lakers can take a game but don’t have enough for a historic Denver collapse, even if there wasn’t a writers’ strike in Hollywood. Teams are 0-149 all-time when trailing a seven-game series 0-3. And I won’t pretend there’s a chance for either losing team to make history here. Then, as things slowed down for Murray in Game 3, Jokić emerged from foul trouble and sealed it by scoring 15 of his 24 in the fourth quarter. It was a great carryover from Game 2’s fourth quarter. He dropped 30 of his game-high 37 points in the first half, obliterating any defense thrown his way. Instead, Murray came out early in Game 3 and put that one to bed. When Murray took over Game 2, we awaited the Lakers’ response for a Game 3 win. But Denver’s one-two punch has been too much. Everybody wonders where D’Angelo Russell’s game has gone, whether LeBron James can take over at any moment or if Anthony Davis can battle the Nuggets interior. The Nuggets went up 3-0 on the Lakers Saturday night with another monster performance from their dynamic duo: Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray. ![]() The Heat aren’t the only team poised to sweep its opponent. Erik Spoelstra is the best coach in basketball. Going into Game 4, the Celtics probably already have their vacation flights booked. The 8-seed Heat are about to sweep the Celtics and make the NBA Finals for the second time in four years. Vincent, Caleb Martin and Max Strus also keep destroying them. Duncan Robinson and Bam Adebayo mopped the floor with them. Their season is over despite them legally having games scheduled. They showed zero fight after the game’s first few minutes. The Celtics flat-out quit last night – both in their 128-102 Game 3 loss and on their season. Jimmy Butler gave the “timeout” gesture to Al Horford and the Celtics after going up by 29 points in the third quarter □ /JQCC8pkAqe A Gabe Vincent 3-pointer put Miami up by 23 before Butler knelt to the ground and made a timeout motion while staring right at Al Horford, who’d done that gesture after a big shot by Boston in Game 1. In fact, as a third-quarter Heat run pushed their lead to 30, Butler made a callback. Miami kicked Boston’s ass in every single way. ![]() In Sunday’s Game 3, Butler delayed his reaction to trolling. Butler then scored nine of Miami’s next 15 points as the Heat notched a 111-105 Game 2 win and two road victories in Boston. Boston held a 96-87 lead after Williams’ 3-pointer. Grant Williams learned this Friday after making a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter of Game 2, talking trash to Butler, fouling him on the next play and going forehead-to-forehead afterward. ![]()
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