Roy Hibbert and the Pacers are, so far, on track to earn an East playoff spot. (Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images) Before the season, most folks divided the the Eastern Conference into two broad tiers: six playoff locks (Miami, Boston, Orlando, Atlanta, Chicago and Milwaukee) and nine teams slap-fighting for the bottom two playoff spots. I was secretly hoping that one of those bottom nine teams would get off to a fast start and tweak this narrative a bit. Nope. Through Friday, none of the presumed bottom nine were over .500, and seven of the nine took up the last seven spots in the conference standings. There is a school of thought that making the playoffs and losing in the first round is a good thing, that it gives young players valuable exposure to a more intense NBA atmosphere, and that it creates loyalty among fans. I’m not convinced on either of those counts, but let’s pretend for now that all of these teams (and their fans) really want to make the playoffs. Are any of them read...
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The New York Knicks were sorry to leave California, though happy to get away from Blake Griffin. The Los Angeles Clippers ' talented rookie had career highs of 44 points and seven assists while pulling down 15 rebounds. But Amare Stoudemire had 39 points and 11 rebounds, Danilo Gallinari scored 17 of his career high-tying 31 points in the fourth quarter, and the Knicks completed a three-game California sweep with a 124-115 victory on Saturday night against the team with the NBA's worst record. "Athletically, I think we saw probably the best you can be - from both teams," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. "Griffin had some dunks that you don't see very often. But we had Amare, Danilo and Raymond (Felton), and that was a little bit too much. Everybody contributed something, and that's how it has to be." Felton had 20 points, one night after scoring a career-high 35 against the Warriors. Wilson Chandler, the first player off the ...
Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - As is his wont everytime he comes home from a victorious fight, Pacquiao went to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo) Church, arriving late for the 9 a.m. Mass. Manny Pacquiao?s arrival drew more worshipers to the church. The crowd inside the basilica reached at least 1,500 for the Mass celebrated by Fr. Jack Padua. Bernard Enrique, 52, of Pasig City, was late for the 6 a.m. Mass that he and his wife usually attend and decided to stay for the 9 a.m. Mass. ?I only found out he (Pacquiao) was coming when I saw the media. I asked around and was told he was attending Mass today," Enrique said, regretting not bringing a camera or a phone with a camera. After the Mass, Pacquiao took the lector?s stand and preached to the Mass-goers about the importance of faith. ?I only dreamed of being the (boxing) champion in the Philippines. I had many setbacks but I continued to pray," he said. ?We should be close to God. The way we seek to...
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