Archives › John Krolik
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There was no drama surrounding this year’s Rookie of the Year selection. After missing the entirety of what would have been his rookie season, Blake Griffin exploded out of the gates in 2011 and never looked back. He put up some of the best numbers for a rookie forward in the last few decades, provided…
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The Thunder needed a win on Tuesday night, and they got one, 111-102 over the Grizzlies. The Thunder got out to an early lead against the Grizzlies and never looked back, and were able to prevent themselves from having to go into Memphis facing an 0-2 deficit. The key to the game was the Thunder’s…
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The Miami Heat aren’t the most complete team in the championship hunt. They don’t have a reliable starting center or point guard. They don’t have a deep rotation. They don’t have a lot of guys who can create their own shots. However, the Heat do have a stingy defense, players who can make open shots,…
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There was a lot of bad blood between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat coming into the conference semifinals, and it’s only going to get worse after Paul Pierce was ejected from Game 1 of the series. The Celtics’ captain was thrown out of the game after being involved in two altercations that resulted…
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The legend of the 2011 Memphis Grizzlies continues to grow. Days after shocking the Spurs at home in Game 1 of the first round, the 8-seeded Grizzlies started their conference semifinal series off on a high note by taking it to the Oklahoma City Thunder, winning by a final score of 114-101. Kevin Durant and…
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There was no one matchup that swung in the Lakers’ favor on Tuesday night. There wasn’t one key play that ended up making all the difference late in the game, although Kobe Bryant‘s turn-back-the-clock dunk in the second quarter did help swing the momentum their way. There wasn’t a noticeable change in their offensive strategy,…
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Sacramento Mayor Johnson shows NBA $10 million in sponsorship pledges
Apr 26, 2011, 6:27 PM EDT
Courtesy of the AP: Mayor Kevin Johnson has taken another step in his bid to keep the Kings in town. He and about 30 representatives from Sacramento-area businesses met with NBA officials Tuesday, signing smaller deposits on more than $10 million in sponsorship pledges for the Kings as a “down payment.” Johnson had promised league…
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Everyone expected the Bulls to finish up their first-round series in four or five games, and that’s exactly what they would do with a win at home against the Pacers tonight. However, each of the first four games has been far more competitive than most people thought they would be, and the Pacers have shown…
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It looked like the Knicks were going to give the Celtics a run for their money after the first and second games of the series were so close, but the Knicks didn’t have the same energy in New York that they did in Boston, and the Celtics were able to sweep the Knicks out of…
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It wasn’t easy, but the Indiana Pacers finally managed to beat the Bulls after losing three consecutive heart-breakers. While the Pacers controlled the game most of the way, they did manage to make things interesting by allowing the Bulls to end the game on a 22-11 run, and the Bulls were one Carlos Boozer three-pointer…
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The Orlando Magic are in some serious trouble against a team that gave up more points than it scored in the regular season. Game 3 could have gone either way, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Magic are a team built around Dwight Howard and versatile shooters, and the versatile shooters have failed…
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This is why the Celtics are the conference champs until somebody beats them. Sure, the team hasn’t looked quite right since it traded away Kendrick Perkins for Jeff Green, and their bench is still a complete mess. Yes, the Celtics gave up the No. 2 seed in the East by finishing their regular season in something of…
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It’s hard not to feel for the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers came into the series as heavy underdogs, each one of their games against the mighty Chicago Bulls has come down to the last few possessions, and they still find themselves on the verge of being swept after another heartbreaking loss. The Pacers needed to…
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NBA Playoffs: After two moral victories, Pacers search for actual victory
Apr 21, 2011, 6:18 PM EDT
The Indiana Pacers put up a much tougher fight against the Bulls than anybody thought they would in the first two games of their playoff series, even though they lost both games. Like the old Simpsons quote goes: in a way, both teams were winners; but in a more accurate way, the Bulls were the…
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It wasn’t pretty, but the Los Angeles Lakers were able to even up their series against the New Orleans Hornets with relative ease. The Hornets were able to shock the Lakers in Game 1 because Los Angeles failed in two fundamental areas: they didn’t establish their big men on offense, and they didn’t contain Chris…
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Quote of the Day: Jackson tells the Lakers to appreciate Odom
Apr 20, 2011, 10:17 PM EDT
“I told the guys to [appreciate Lamar Odom being given the Sixth Man of the Year award], because this might be his last game in front of the home fans this year.” – A smiling Phil Jackson, who never lets a disappointing loss and 1-0 deficit dampen his wry sense of humor. Apart from that,…
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The Knicks have certainly made the first games of their series with the Boston Celtics interesting. In Game 1, the Knicks were able to take the Celtics to the wire thanks to the stellar offensive play of Amar’e Stoudemire. In Game 2, back spasms limited Stoudemire to four points in only 16 minutes of play,…
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According to the Associated Press, Indiana Pacers starting guard Darren Collison “expects to play” in game three of the Pacers-Bulls series. Collison suffered a sprained ankle in the second quarter of Monday’s game, and missed the rest of the game. Collison recorded 17 points and 9 assists in game one, and recorded eight points and…
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The Indiana Pacers were able to put up yet another great fight against the Chicago Bulls on Monday night, but they were once again left with nothing to show for their valiant effort. In game one of the series, the Pacers took the Bulls down to the wire because of their sharp jump shooting. The…
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Well, it’s been an interesting first round so far, hasn’t it? The Knicks were the latest underdog to give the home team a lot more than it bargained for in the series opener, and they were probably one shot away from stealing a game in Boston on Sunday. Unfortunately for them, poor late-game execution cost…
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You could hear a pin drop in the Staples Center. The Lakers were supposed to steamroll the short-handed New Orleans Hornets in the first round on their way to a potential three-peat, but the Hornets stunned the NBA world and took game one in the Staples Center. And unlike the Grizzlies’ win, the Hornets’ win…
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The Chicago Bulls finished the regular season with an NBA-best 62 wins. The Indiana Pacers finished the regular season with 37 wins. There was not supposed to be a lot of suspense surrounding the two teams’ first-round matchup. However, nobody told the Pacers they were supposed to go quietly against the Bulls, and the NBA…
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How did we forget about the Oklahoma City Thunder? After Kevin Durant‘s season-long coming-out party last season and the tough fight the young Thunder put up against the eventual champion Lakers, the Thunder were everyone’s pick to put it all together and establish themselves as one of the league’s elite teams this season. They did…
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Coming into this season, the Heat, The Lakers, and The Celtics were supposed to rule the NBA. After 82 games, the Chicago Bulls are coming into the playoffs with the best record in the league. They don’t have as much championship experience as some of the other top contenders, but they’re talented, young, hungry, and…
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This is a video of the Sacramento Kings’ broadcasters signing off for what may be the final time. After tonight’s heartbreaking loss to the Lakers, Kings fans stayed in their seats well after the game was over. They chanted that they were staying. The players came out to address the fans. In situations like this,…
