TOP TEAMS STUMBLE EARLY

For the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, high hopes turned to disappointments pretty darned quickly. Read more

NBA ROUNDUP: 7/4 - 7/10

The Dallas Mavericks are making multiple roster moves to put themselves among the elite NBA teams by re-signing Jason Kidd and making a trade for Shawn Marion. The Mavs showed some toughness and resolve this year when they won 50 games and made it to the second round of the playoffs before falling to a scrappy Denver Nuggets squad. Owner Mark Cuban is not sitting on his laurels and is making bold moves to put his team back in contention. Read more

RIVALS LOADING UP

With the Los Angeles Lakers king of the castle, a few of the other contenders are bulking up with the hopes dethroning the champs. The San Antonio Spurs kicked it off by trading for All-Star-caliber forward Richard Jefferson. The Cleveland Cavaliers, however, seriously loaded up by pairing Shaquille O’Neal with LeBron James, setting up a dream NBA Finals match-up. Read more

WILL JAMES REBOUND NEXT SEASON?

For LeBron James, the 2008-2009 season was one of extremes. From a dominating roll through the regular season, to the sudden crash after hitting a brick wall that were the Orlando Magic, James and his squad went from dominant to devastated in a flash. Read more

LAKERS NBA FINALS DREAM MATCHUP

The Los Angeles Lakers are the 2009 NBA Champions, but the players are still hungry for more rings. If the Lakers can re-sign both Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza this summer, they will again be favorite to win it all next year. The Black Mamba won his fourth ring and the first without Shaq, but don’t count out his desire to win more. Read more

KEYS TO AVOIDING A LAKERS SWEEP

The Orlando Magic traveled a rough road back to Amway Arena, now staring at a two-game deficit after a heartbreaking overtime loss in Game 2. Coach Stan Van Gundy needs to make some key adjustments if he wants the Magic to win their first Finals game and make this series a bit more interesting. Read more

NEW YORKERS REJOICE

There are a boatload of people bemoaning the lack of a Kobe Bryant-LeBron James match-up in the NBA Finals: the citizens of Cleveland, basketball fans, LeBron worshipers, and even David Stern. Outside of Orlando, there’s one city toasting the downfall of the King: New York. Read more

CAVS COMEBACK?

The Cleveland Cavaliers are down 3-1, much to the shock and dismay of fans, sponsors, and David Stern. Historically, of the 190 teams that are up 3-1 in a playoff series, 182 of them (or 95.6 percent) have won.But there is still hope for MVP LeBron James and the Cavs to pull off an improbable comeback in the next three games. Read more

ARE THE LAKERS LAST YEAR’S CELTICS?

There is too much negative press for a Los Angeles Lakers team that went 65-17 in the regular season and finished with the second best record in the league behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. Read more

CAVALIERS-MAGIC PREVIEW

The Orlando Magic should throw a wrench into what has been a smooth-running Cleveland Cavaliers’ roll into the NBA Finals. Read more

LEBRON RULES: HOW TO STOP THE CAVS

LeBron James looks unstoppable in the playoffs as the Cleveland Cavaliers cruised through the first two rounds without breaking a sweat. They’re 8-0 heading into the Eastern Conference Finals and, more importantly, they’ve dominated every game they’ve played. Read more

NBA ROUNDUP: 5/2 - 5/8

The Houston Rockets proved to the Los Angeles Lakers that they should not be taken lightly after winning the first game of the series with hard-nosed defense and significant contributions from Yao Ming and Ron Artest. On the flip side, the Cleveland Cavaliers look to have an easy road to the Finals as they blew out the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 and 2 in convincing fashion. Read more

NBA ROUNDUP: 4/25 - 5/1

The Cleveland Cavaliers showed why they had the best record in the NBA by easily sweeping the Detroit Pistons in the first round. The presumptive favorites, the Los Angeles Lakers, failed to look anything like a championship contender by blowing huge leads to the Utah Jazz before finishing them off. The San Antonio Spurs were shocked by the Dallas Mavericks and it’s Tim Duncan’s first ever playoff exit in the first round. Look for an exciting series to go seven between the Mavs and Denver Nuggets. Read more

NBA ROUNDUP: 4/18 -4/24

The NBA playoffs have started with the top two teams in the league - the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers - easily taking the first two games. Look for easy wins by these powerhouses as they continue their journey to the Finals. Things have not been easy for the defending champions Boston Celtics with Leon Powe out for the playoffs with a knee injury. Look for the Chicago Bulls to stun the Celtics in seven games. Another series to watch out for is the Dallas-San Antonio series, with tempers likely to rise as Eric Dampier looks to protect the basket with rough play on Tony Parker. The Mavericks will also stun the Spurs in six games. Read more

LAKERS LOCKED UP?

So everyone assumes the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers are on a collision course for the Finals. But unlike popular opinion, it’s not going to be a cakewalk for either team. Both have shown they are vulnerable to certain match-ups, despite what their dominating records may suggest. Yesterday, we looked at the Cavs. Here’s a look at the match-up problem the Lake Show faces: Read more

CAVALIERS KRYPTONITE

So everyone assumes the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers are on a collision course for the Finals. But unlike popular opinion, it’s not going to be a cakewalk for either team. Both have shown they are vulnerable to certain match-ups, despite what their dominating records may suggest. Today, we look at the biggest hurdle for the Cavs: Read more

NBA ROUNDUP: 4/11 - 4/17

The NBA Playoffs are here and all the match-ups have been solidified. The biggest news is that Kevin Garnett will be out for playoffs. Teams in the East must be licking their lips smelling blood in the water. The Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James must feel that this year is their time to win a championship with the biggest threat in their conference out of the picture. Read more

TOP NBA GAMES: 4/6 - 4/12