NBA Playoffs

SOURCE SPORTS: Kyrie Irving Fined $50K for Flipping the Bird at Celtics Fans During Game 1

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Kyrie Irving knew he would be hit with a hefty fine for giving the Boston Celtics fans the double bird during game 1 of the NBA playoffs. Well, the league hit the Brooklyn Nets point guard in the pockets. The NBA has fined Irving $50k for his actions toward the fans Sunday afternoon.

“The same energy they have for me, I’m going to have for them,” Irving said following the game. “And it’s not every fan. I don’t want to attack every Boston fan, but when people start yelling “p****” and “b****” and “f*** you” and all of this, there’s only so much you can take as a competitor. We’re the ones expected to be docile and be humble and take a humble approach. No. F*** that. It’s the playoffs. This is what it is.”

Heading into tonight’s game 2 with the Nets trailing in the series 1-0, it will be interesting to see if Irving will continue to stand by his word to give the Celtics fans the same energy again.

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SOURCE SPORTS: Joel Embiid to Raptors’ Head Coach Nick Nurse During Game 2 76ers Win “Stop B***hng About Calls”

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Joel Embiid to Raptors’ Head Coach Nick Nurse During Game 2 76ers Win “Stop B***hng About Calls”

Joel Embiid loves to talk trash while on the court, and it now appears coaches aren’t safe from his antics either. During the game two big win for Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers over the Toronto Raptors, Embiid had an in-game conversation with Raptors’ head coach Nick Nurse.

You couldn’t tell what during the game, but afterward, Embiid revealed what was said with Nurse’s back-and-forth.

“He’s a great coach obviously, what he has been able to accomplish,” said Embiid of Nurse. “I’ve always been a big fan. But I told him, respectfully told him to stop b—-ing about calls.”

Embiid finished the game with 31 points, with 12 coming from the free-throw line. He attempted 14 free throws for the game. It seems Nurse didn’t like the number of times Embiid went to the line in the game.

“If you’re going to triple-team somebody all game, they are bound to get to the free-throw line, or if you’re going to push them off and try to hold them and all that stuff, they’re bound and get to the free-throw line,” Embiid said. “So I feel like every foul was legit and probably should have been more, honestly.”

The Raptors head back to Toronto down 2-0 in their first-round matchup with the 76ers. Maybe Nurse’s complaining to Embiid and the refs way benefit the Raptors in game 3, have Embiid more motivated to keep the pressure on.

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SOURCE SPORTS: Warriors Takes a 2-0 Series Lead on the Nuggets Putting the Rest of the Western Conference on Notice

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The Golden State Warriors are putting the Western Conference on notice with their outstanding play in the first two games of their matchup with the Denver Nuggets.

The Warriors have taken a commanding 2-0 lead. They have neutralized defending league MVP Nikola Jokic and the entire Nuggets team with a new death lineup with Jordan Poole playing the role of former Warrior Kevin Durant.

The full unit took the court with 6:02 remaining in the second quarter, with Golden State trailing 43-35. By the time the halftime whistle sounded, the Warriors had led, 57-51. The new death lineup, which has yet to receive a proper nickname, launched a 22-8 run in half a quarter, and the way they did it should terrify the Nuggets, but whichever teams get in their way in upcoming playoff rounds.

“It’s a passer’s paradise for me,” Green said after the Game 2 win. “You’ve got those three guys [Curry, Thompson and Poole] out there at the same time, for me as a passer, that’s heaven. … You can’t ask for anything more on the offensive end, any more options than that.”

Steph Curry came off the bench and shot. Curry shot 12-for-17 (71%) from the field, the highest field goal percentage of his playoff career. It’s the first time in his career he scored 30-plus points in fewer than 25 minutes (regular season or playoffs), even though it was the 48th time he played 25 minutes or less.

The Warriors will look to take a 3 -0 lead in Denver on Thursday night.

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SOURCE SPORTS: Brooklyn Nets Secure 7th Seed Ahead of Play in Tournament

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Brooklyn Nets Secure 7th Seed Ahead of Play in Tournament

After a controversial season filled with injuries and COVID-19 mandates, the Brooklyn Nets clinched the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference. With the 7th seed secured, the Nets will host the Cleveland Cavaliers for the right to play the 2nd seeded Boston Celtics.

The loser of the Nets vs. Cavaliers game will host the winner of the Atlanta Hawks vs. Charlotte Hornets game in a win-or-go-home game Friday night, with the victor in that game entering the playoffs against the No. 8 seed and taking on the Miami Heat starting next weekend.

The Nets finished the season winning four straight games to avoid playing the play-in tournament on the road. With a win on Tuesday, the Nets will begin a quest to be the first 7th seed to reach the NBA Finals. With a healthy Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the top seeds in the Eastern Conference way do not feel secure with their seedings.

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SOURCE SPORTS: Miami Heat Secure the Number 1 Seed in the Eastern Conference

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The NBA playoffs are a week away and it appears that the Miami Heat has clinched the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. After losses by the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76er, the route towards the NBA Finals must come through Miami.

The Heat came out on top of the competitive Eastern Conference despite stars Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo missing significant time throughout the season. With just two seasons removed from the team’s last NBA Finals appearance, not many have the Heat in this position.

The Heat will have to wait a few more days to see who will be their first-round opponent. As it stands right now, it could be either the Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, or Charlotte Hornets. The Heat’s opponent will be determined by the league’s play in tournament that is set to start on Tuesday.

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SOURCE SPORTS: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Still Concerned About Star Players Missing Games

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Adam Silver on NYC Mandate Keeping Kyrie Irving Out of Home Games

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is still not a fan of star players sitting out games, especially with the playoffs. During a Wednesday press conference, Silver said he and the league plan to look into “a trend of star players not participating in a full complement of games.”

Silver brought up this issue when asked about the Ben Simmons and the 76ers’ ongoing arbitration. He said he would instead focus on the trend above of various star players missing big chunks of games.

“I’m not standing here saying I have a great solution,” Silver said via ESPN. “Part of the issue is injuries. One of the things we have focused on at the league office and we’re spending—we had begun to spend a lot of time on pre-pandemic—are there things we can do in terms of sharing information, resources around the league to improve best practices, rehabilitation?”

Silver also mentions that the play-in tournament is here to stay. Silver noted that the play in tournaments was also meant for players to want to have more incentive not to miss many games throughout the season.

“The other way we can get at it, in terms of player participation, is creating other incentives,” Silver said. “The Play-In Tournament, I thought, was a beginning of creating renewed incentives for teams to remain competitive and be fighting for playoff position. It may be through in-season tournaments and changes in format where we can get at it.”

While the NBA has seen its share of stars miss significant time this season, Silver and the league may need to look at better ways to limit back-to-back games and space out long road trips for teams.

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SOURCE SPORTS: Steph Curry Out Indefinitely With a Sprained Foot

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Steph Curry Out Indefinitely With a Sprained Foot

The Golden State Warriors appear to close out the regular season without Steph Curry. Curry will be out indefinitely after reportedly suffering a sprained ligament in his left foot, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Curry went down with a left foot injury late in the first half, and Golden State coach Steve Kerr didn’t like Marcus Smart’s lunging move at the reigning NBA scoring champ.

“I thought it was a dangerous play. I thought Marcus dove into Steph’s knee,” Kerr said. “That’s what I was upset about. Lot of respect for Marcus. He’s a hell of a player, gamer, competitor. I coached him in the World Cup a few summers ago. We talked after the game, we’re good. I thought it was a dangerous play; just let him know.”

Draymond Green defended the play by Smart and didn’t believe it was dirty.

The Warriors are currently 3rd in the Western Conference with 47-23. The team will have to find a way to make up Curry’s production and close out the last 12 games of the season without him.

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Tierra Whack Shows Love For The Philadelphia 76ers’ Playoff Push In The Patriotic ’76’ Video

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The Philadelphia 76ers are 1-1 with the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA’s Eastern Conference semifinals as the series leaves the City of Brotherly Love and heads down south to The Big Peach. To see them off, though, the 76ers’ Phila Unite campaign tapped one of the city’s rising musical stars in Tierra Whack, who shows her hometown pride with a rap shouting out the team’s members like Joel Embid and Tobias Harris in “76.”

Over a marching band-inspired beat that sounds like Missy Elliott’s “Pass That Dutch” had a baby with an HBCU drumline, Tierra flips the stars’ names with wordplay like “Shake Milton makes millions” and “Doc Rivers layin’ up with winners.” The video sees Tierra watching the Sixers play on an old school box TV set, holding up cardboard cutouts of the players’ heads, and showing off her own hoop skills as she dribbles and shoots a jumper on an invisible hoop.

Whack isn’t the only rapper putting on for her city in the series. Migos’ Quavo attended game 1 in Philly, with his over-the-top reactions capturing Twitter’s attention and either amusing or enraging fans (depending on who they were rooting for). Does that mean we’ll see someone like Meek Mill turn up at State Farm Arena to troll Atlanta fans in the same fashion? Let’s hope so; after last year’s bubble, more fan engagement can only be a good thing.

Watch Tierra Whack’s “76” video above.