Pedro Martin

Just a game into the 2018 NBA playoffs and the Cavaliers already look to be on shaky ground. The loss to the Pacers in the first of their seven-game series was the first in Lebron James’ playoffs career and had Cleveland surrendering homecourt advantage to Indiana.  Image source: sbnation.com A lot of people didn’t expect this turn of events, for sure; almost every NBA expert saw a sweep, especially given how the team had run roughshod over opponents in the previous year. But is it now evident that Indiana is no push-over. Victor Oladipo and Lance Stephenson led the Pacers to a dominant wire-to-wire win. The Cavs didn’t take the lead at any point in the game.  What’s troubling for the Cavs’ campaign is that the anemic performance is not an aspect of youth and fresh legs, but of playoffs inexperience. Lebron got his now-regular triple-double, and Kevin Love’s game was fine, but the rest of the Cleveland cast seemed lost on the court. More importantly, th...

With but a few weeks left in the regular season and the Heat having cemented their place in the upcoming NBA post-season, fans of Miami’s pro basketball team are now looking to how the squad would fare. Just how good are the Heat this year, and can they go deep into the playoffs?  Image source: hothothoops.com Though positioning in the Eastern Conference isn’t etched in stone at this point, it’s safe to say that the lower four teams in the now-finalized eight (the Pistons have been eliminated) are keen on avoiding Lebron’s Cavaliers in the first round. As of this writing, the Pacers are on fifth place, with the Heat, Wizards, and Bucks taking the sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively.  The win-loss records of these last three teams are very identical, and it makes perfect sense for their management to be watchful of Philadelphia’s campaign to rise to the third position (as of this writing, they just beat the Cavs to secure that spot). If the trend conti...