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Mike Prada

Mar 25, 2008 May 31, 2012 12892 21003

I am the Senior Editor of SB Nation DC and the lead editor at Bullets Forever. I have an unhealthy obsession of John Wall.

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James Harden Seems Perplexed

Multiple-choice question: What has James Harden just completed doing in this GIF?

A. Riding a rollercoaster.

B. Eating a ton of ice cream, causing brain freeze.

C. Finding out Gifton got screwed in the Spelling Bee.

D. Seeing Kate Winslet nude in Titanic.

E. Gotten called for a charge in an NBA Playoff Game

It’s E, but I wouldn’t blame you if you thought it was C.

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Thabo Sefolosha Clotheslines Manu Ginobili

I’m not entirely sure why Thabo Sefolosha did this. Sure, the Thunder had a foul to give at the end of the first quarter, but that doesn’t mean he should clock Manu Ginobili in the face.

At least Sefolosha didn’t wind up like Raja Bell.

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Kendrick Perkins Is Mad At Steve Kerr And Reggie Miller For Some Reason

Kendrick Perkins is a big man with a lot of pride and not a lot of skill. While he’s adept at post defense and screen-setting, his limitations have been exposed in this series trying to go against the speedy Spurs. It’s gotten so bad that many, including TNT’s Charles Barkley and others with the network, have concluded that this is simply not the series where he should play.

Perkins has apparently heard those criticisms and was waiting for a chance to respond. After making a nice play early in Game 3 against the Spurs, he found his chance, turning over to Steve Kerr and Reggie Miller to shout "TALK ABOUT THAT."

Here’s the GIF.

Perkinsstare_medium

Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to convince Kerr and Miller to talk about how great Perkins is.

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VIDEO: Kevin Durant Gets The Best Of Tim Duncan At The Rim

The San Antonio Spurs have been doing a great job contesting shots at the rim without fouling throughout this Western Conference Finals series, so that means it's time for the Thunder to adjust. Kevin Durant apparently decided that "adjusting" meant doing this to Tim Duncan.

You have to appreciate the finish -- a gliding one-handed throwdown that made it seem like Durant stretched his arms out like he was Michael Jordan in Space Jam. You also have to appreciate the play design -- a wing-wing screen that caused just enough confusion to give Durant his opening.

We'll have to see if this "dunk on Tim Duncan" strategy works going forward.

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Spurs' Defense Puts Them Back Ahead

As noted, the Spurs are having issues with the Thunder’s new defensive matchups early in Game 3 of this Western Conference Finals series. So what’s San Antonio to do? Win with their defense, as it turns out. San Antonio has done a beautiful job closing off driving lanes and contesting Thunder shots at the rim. No team does it better — and yes, it is a skill.

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Despite Matchup Change, Thunder's Defensive Schemes Look Pretty Similar

Despite the major change to put Thabo Sefolosha on Tony Parker defensively, the Thunder’s schemes look pretty similar otherwise. Coach Scott Brooks is having Sefolosha fight over ball screens just like Russell Westbrook did, choosing that strategy despite Sefolosha’s length. So far, it’s working, as Sefolosha has done a great job jumping over picks to hold Parker down.

One other thing: Sefolosha is playing the passing lanes well when Parker doesn’t have the ball, cheating off him to help on other guys.

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Thabo Sefolosha Is Guarding Tony Parker

Scott Brooks has gone ahead and done the deed. After seeing his defense get shredded in the Thunder’s Game 2 loss on Tuesday, he has made a big change. Thabo Sefolosha, and not Russell Westbrook, has begun the game guarding Tony Parker.

The Thunder are giving up some speed with the matchup, but they also do a much better job contesting Parker’s jump shots under this scenario. Sefolosha can go under ball screens to prevent Parker from driving to the rim, then use his length to get a hand up on Parker’s jumpers far better than Westbrook could.

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The NBA Party No One Attended

The Charlotte Bobcats, in a goodwill gesture to their fans, opened up Time-Warner Cable Arena to fans to watch the NBA Draft lottery together. It was a really nice thing to do, and the handful of fans who actually showed up surely appreciated it.

Continue reading this post »

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Bullets Forever Bullets Forever Community Draft Board: Pick No. 2

With the NBA lottery now finished, it's time to begin the Bullets Forever community draft board. We're going to be updating this thing daily with polls once each of the positions have been decided. Here's how this works.

  • This is not a mock draft. This is a list of players you think the Wizards should take at their spot, so adjust for team needs as much as you feel is appropriate. Basically, the idea is that, when the Wizards make their pick, they'll pick the highest guy available on your list. Vote on which guy that should be for each spot, and over the next month, we'll develop our consensus board.
  • Weigh team needs as much as you feel is relevant: You may believe they should factor in heavily. You may believe they shouldn't factor in at all. When making your vote, use whatever you think is the right philosophy. Most teams use something called a "tier" system, which was detailed in this old Chad Ford article. Basically, they rank the prospect, split them up into groups and rank the players within each group in terms of team needs.
  • We're running a new one every day: Why? While the Wizards currently have the third pick, lots of things happen on draft day. Two years ago, the Wizards traded a couple late picks to move up to select Trevor Booker. They could move down from No. 3, buy a late first-round pick, trade someone for a first-round pick, etc. To be fully prepared, we're going to extend the draft board as far down as we possibly can.

Make sense? Cool. We're going to put Anthony Davis at No. 1 automatically and start with No. 2.

Poll
Who do you think should earn the No. 2 spot on the Wizards' draft board?

  507 votes | Results

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Behind The Scenes At The NBA Draft Lottery

February 23, 2012; Orlando FL, USA; NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver during the All-Star jam session opening ceremonies at the Orange County Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

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Bullets Forever NBA Mock Draft 2012 Roundup: Lots Of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

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With the lottery over, the many 2012 NBA Mock Draft projections that we see all across the web actually have some meaning. Now that the picks are locked in, we can really start to incorporate team needs into the picks and get a better idea of where the franchises may lean.

Early on, when it comes to the Washington Wizards and the No. 3 pick, there's a wide variety of possibilities. Here's a look at some early mock drafts.

Continue reading this post »

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Rajon Rondo Puts Together Historic Performance Despite Boston Celtics Loss To Miami Heat

The Boston Celtics' 115-111 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals is going to sting, but the saving grace is that Rajon Rondo had a historically great game. The Celtics guard scored 44 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed eight rebounds, all while playing all 53 minutes of the game. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to lead the Celtics to victory, so it will likely be forgotten.

Well, maybe not. On ESPN, color commentator Magic Johnson called Rondo's performance the greatest playoff performance he's ever seen by a guard. That's probably an exaggeration -- Johnson obviously forgot about Michael Jordan's 63 points in Boston Garden in 1986, as well as many other performances by Jordan, Johnson himself and others.

But Rondo's feat is still very rare. Since 1985, only 10 other players have scored at least 40 points and dished 10 assists while playing at least 40 minutes in a playoff game, and only one of those 10 games was in a conference final or an NBA Finals game. None of those 10 performances featured the player playing every single minute of the game. More specifically, no player has ever scored 44 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed eight rebounds in a playoff game since 1985.

You can also bet that few point guards had a shot chart like this.

Rondo_shot_chart_medium

That's coming from a guy who is not known for having much of an outside shot, too. No matter the Celtics' result, this was truly an unbelievable performance from Rondo.

For more on these teams, visit Heat blog Peninsula is Mightier and CelticsBlog. To stay up to date on all of the happenings in the 2012 NBA playoffs, head over to SB Nation's dedicated NBA hub.

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Bullets Forever The Washington Wizards Are Picking Third, And That Only Makes Things More Complicated

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Picking third in a deep NBA Draft is never a bad thing, especially when the alternative is picking fifth and the top four options are off the table. It's not Anthony Davis, of course, but there's plenty of upside to the Washington Wizards' spot.

But this is certainly not an easy spot for the Wizards to be. We've said it before, but it rings true again: Ernie Grunfeld and the rest of his staff don't have an easy job over the next month.

In many ways, this is a unique predicament. Generally speaking, there's a big drop between Anthony Davis and the rest of this draft class. While there's a lot to like with many of the prospects from two all the way down to the mid- to late-lottery, there also hasn't yet been a whole lot separating them from each other. That forces any GM picking in that range to make some very difficult value judgments.

But even if we get into specifics, the Wizards' task is especially tough given the makeup of the team right now.

Continue reading this post »

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Celtics Vs. Heat, Game 3: Miami Survives Rajon Rondo For 115-111 In Overtime

The Boston Celtics put together a determined effort in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals but, in the end, it wasn't quite enough to beat the Miami Heat. Spurred by Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, the Heat held on to pick up a 115-111 overtime victory, overcoming a 44-point, 10-rebound performance by Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo.

The Celtics jumped ahead and led throughout the first half before the Heat rallied in the third quarter to take a lead. The Celtics fought back to regain the lead in the fourth quarter, but then the Heat wrestled it back away in regulation. Down three points with 48 seconds left, the Celtics tied the game on a three-pointer by Ray Allen. After two misses from James, the game headed into overtime.

In overtime, the game's most critical sequence came with one minute and 37 seconds remaining. With the Celtics up two points, Rondo drove hard to the basket and may have been clipped over the head by Wade on a layup attempt. However, no foul was called, and the Heat tied the game on the other end on a Udonis Haslem dunk. Miami took the lead for good on the next possession on a three-point play by Wade.

James had 34 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Heat, while Wade added 23 points.

For more on these teams, visit Heat blog Peninsula is Mightier and CelticsBlog. To stay up to date on all of the happenings in the 2012 NBA playoffs, head over to SB Nation's dedicated NBA hub.

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VIDEO: Breaking Down Ray Allen's Game-Tying 3-Pointer

Down three points with 48 seconds left in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics somehow were able to get a wide-open 3-pointer for Ray Allen. How'd it happen? Let's take a look.

First of all, you have to admire the Celtics' incredible composure on this play. The initial design had Ray Allen coming off a baseline screen, but LeBron James did a great job of fighting through the Kevin Garnett screen to cut off the pass to Allen. That meant that the Celtics needed to freelance to create a look. Rajon Rondo did this by running a pick-and-pop with Garnett, and then all hell broke loose.

The Heat defender most responsible for the open look is Dwyane Wade. As you can see here, he broke to try to pick off Rondo's pass to Garnett, but left far too late, leaving the rest of the Heat defenders in a compromising position.

Screen_shot_2012-05-30_at_11

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With Wade out of position, Paul Pierce made a heads-up cut down the lane to occupy defenders. This attracted James, who immediately slid over to try to prevent the layup. The problem? In the process, he left Allen wiiiide open.

Screen_shot_2012-05-30_at_11

So how do we assign blame? To a certain extent, James is at fault for leaving the guy who can tie the game to cover the guy who can only get it within one point. However, this never would have happened if Wade hadn't gambled for the steal, so he's the guy I'd blame the most for the breakdown. Then again, if the Celtics weren't poised and if Pierce didn't make that basket cut, Allen never would have gotten that shot anyway.

For more on these teams, visit Heat blog Peninsula is Mightier and CelticsBlog. To stay up to date on all of the happenings in the 2012 NBA playoffs, head over to SB Nation's dedicated NBA hub.

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Dwyane Wade And Kevin Garnett Have An Impromptu Staring Contest

Dwyane Wade and Kevin Garnett probably both fouled each other on a critical drive late in overtime. Wade stuck his leg out, while Garnett came down with his arms tilted to the side. Garnett ended up being called for the foul, but the fact that they both hit each other probably explains why they both stared each other down like this.

Who do you think won the staring contest?

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Dwyane Wade And Kevin Garnett Have Impromptu Staring Contest

Dwyane Wade and Kevin Garnett probably both fouled each other on a critical drive late in overtime. Wade stuck his leg out, while Garnett came down with his arms tilted to the side. Garnett ended up being called for the foul, but the fact that they both hit each other probably explains why they both stared each other down like this.

Who do you think won the staring contest?

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Rajon Rondo Probbly Got Fouled By Dwyane Wade Here

The referees missed this foul on Rajon Rondo, without question. In a tie game with 1 1/2 minutes remaining in overtime, this looms large.

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Heat Back To Switching Pick And Rolls

On the last two possessions, the Heat have switched screens defensively. On one switch, LeBron James contested a Kevin Garnett turnaround perfectly. On the next, Udonis Haslem slid his feet to cut off Paul Pierce’s drive to the basket.

How will Boston adjust?

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The Heat's Offense Looks Like It Did In The First Quarter

Once again, the Miami Heat’s offense is too perimeter-oriented. Here, it’s not entirely Miami’s fault. They have a lot of non-threats on the floor, and the Boston Celtics are helping off them to load up on LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. That said, Miami needs to figure out a better way to get James and Wade catching the ball closer to the basket.

On the other end, the Celtics have made some beautiful offensive adjustments, throwing in a lot of misdirection to confuse Miami’s help defenders.

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Rajon Rondo Passes Up Another Layup

Rajon Rondo has 30 points in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat. All game, he's been aggressive looking for his shot, carrying the Celtics offensively. And then ... he goes ahead and does this.

Rondopass_1_medium

That's a layup Rondo is passing up. I'm sure he's tired from playing every minute of this game, but come on. He needs to shoot that ball.

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How The Celtics Can Counteract The Heat Switching Pick-And-Rolls

As Jeff Van Gundy noted on ESPN's broadcast, the Miami Heat have begun switching more pick-and-rolls, especially with Rajon Rondo. The effect: It has coerced the Boston Celtics into an isolation game offensively.

The thing is, the Celtics have a lot of counters to this. Considering how much continuity exists in their offense -- i.e., their plays fold well into each other -- it shouldn’t be too hard for the Celtics to run pindowns or misdirections to render all that Miami switching irrelevant.

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Ted Leonsis on missing out on Anthony Davis: "This fortunately is a deep draft. We won’t be trading the third pick in the draft." ‪#wizards

about 23 hours ago Headshot_tiny Mike Prada 60 comments

Kevin Garnett Had Mario Chalmers On Him Just Now

He shot a 16-foot jumper that missed. Yup.

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VIDEO: LeBron James Swats Paul Pierce, Ignites Fast Break

Love them or hate them, you have to admit that the Miami Heat's two stars, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, can make some absolutely breathtaking plays. The duo isn't nicknamed "Flying Death Machine" for nothing.

For example, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more jaw-dropping athletic sequence then the one we just saw from James and Wade at the end of the third quarter. First, James swatted Paul Pierce's layup attempt high into the air to keep the ball inbounds. Then, Wade took off on his own against two defenders and fought through Keyon Dooling's attempt to foul him to convert on the three-point play.

Here's video.

I'm the furthest thing from a Heat fan, and I can appreciate that play. That means you should, too.

For more on these teams, visit Heat blog Peninsula is Mightier and CelticsBlog. To stay up to date on all of the happenings in the 2012 NBA playoffs, head over to SB Nation's dedicated NBA hub.

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Kevin Garnett Is MIA So Far

The Boston Celtics’ biggest problem as the Miami Heat start to take control of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals is that Kevin Garnett hasn’t done anything. The Celtics big man has just six points and four rebounds, and has barely been involved in the third quarter.

The Celtics probably should try to get Garnett a post touch, but to the Heat’s credit, they’ve defended him well. Udonis Haslem has done a very nice job fronting him, and whichever Miami wing has been positioned on the baseline has provided help to prevent the lob pass to Garnett over the top.

No matter what, though, the Celtics need more from their backbone.

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VIDEO: Dwyane Wade's Block Of Ray Allen Was A Critical Turning Point

Mark this play down in your notebooks, virtual or real. Up five, the Celtics got a steal, and Ray Allen came in against Dwyane Wade on the fast break. A healthy Allen finishes without any problems. A banged-up Allen fighting through an ankle injury does this instead.

The Heat recovered the ball, and Mario Chalmers converted on a layup on the other end to cut the lead to three points. This is the sad reality the Celtics face in this series. There's really no margin for error.

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Ray Allen Has His Shot Back

For one of the first times in over a month, Ray Allen is having a good shooting game. He hit his first three-pointer of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals early in the third quarter, but also hit a few mid-range jumpers in the first half.

Most significantly, the Heat appear to be defending Allen as if he’s completely healthy. Upon Allen getting open for that three, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra seemed incensed on the bench. Seeing as the Celtics’ offense depends heavily on the threat of Allen as much as Allen’s production itself, this is good news for Boston.

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How The Heat Are Still In This Game

The Boston Celtics played great in the first half of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat. So why are they only up seven at halftime? A couple things to keep in mind:

1. The Celtics are feasting off midrange jumpers. Boston has taken 25 shots classified as jumpers, but only two of those were 3-pointers. As well as they are scorching the net, it’s tough to create a ton of separation shooting long 2-pointers.

2. The Heat’s offense has actually generated some pretty good looks, though very few of them have been for LeBron James or Dwyane Wade. Both players are struggling, but they’ve also been unselfish, finding other players for open looks. That explains how Mario Chalmers has 14 points.

There’s a lot for the Celtics to be happy about, of course; Rajon Rondo, in particular, has been unbelievable. But there are reasons this game is still within the Heat’s reach, even though it seems like the Celtics are playing so much better than them.

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The Celtics Like The Right Side Of The Floor

Here's the Boston Celtics' shot chart, as of three minutes and 14 seconds left in the second quarter. The lone "X" on the right side of the court represents a missed Paul Pierce 3-pointer in transition that was basically a heat check.

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