The Starting 5: LeBron James concerned about potential Cavaliers-Heat series in playoffs
By
Posted on
David Santiago/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire
The Starting 5: A look at some of the best hoops content from around the Internet
1. LeBron concerned about potential Cavaliers-Heat series in the playoffs - Ananth Pandian, CBS Sports
Since taking his talents back to Cleveland in the summer of 2015, LeBron James and his Cavaliers have gone 0-4 against the Miami Heat back in South Beach. Their most recent loss, Saturday night’s 122-101 shellacking, led to James expressing doubt in his current team’s ability to get past his former team if the two run into each other in the playoffs. Despite going 9-6 in their last 15 games, the Cavs still possess the top seed in the Eastern Conference. With the Heat currently residing in fourth in the conference, it’s a possibility the two teams could meet up in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
2. Why the NBA is unlikely to issue stiff penalty in Howard’s Stickum controversy - Chris Mannix, The Vertical
Yay, a new Dwight Howard controversy! In case you missed it, the Houston Rockets center got caught using Stickum — which is what it sounds like it is, a sticky adhesive substance you use on your hands for better grip — during Saturday night’s loss at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks. Despite it being in the NBA rules that use of substances like Stickum is not allowed, Howard admitted after the game that he’d been using the product for five years. The Vertical’s Chris Mannix explains why he doesn’t think Howard will receive much, if any, punishment for this.
3. Loss of Anthony Davis can wind up being a much-needed win for New Orleans - Justin Verrier, ESPN
Good news: Anthony Davis will be reunited with Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans. Bad news: they’re all on the New Orleans Pelicans’ injured reserve for the rest of the season. Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry announced Sunday afternoon that his All-Star big man will miss the rest of the season with a torn labrum in his left shoulder, as well as a left knee injury. While it’s scary/sad to see Davis deal with these injuries, ESPN’s Justin Verrier explains why this injury came at the right time for the Pelicans, who weren’t going anywhere this season even with a healthy Davis.
4. Here’s who should and shouldn’t tank the rest of the NBA season - Tom Ziller, SB Nation
To continue the theme of “how team x should play out the rest of their season,” SB Nation’s Tom Ziller looks at the league’s bottom 20 or so teams, and assesses who should and shouldn’t be tanking. A lot of this analysis is tied to potential draft picks and the development of younger players, and while there wasn’t really anything groundbreaking in the column, it offers great perspective on how things should ideally play out for teams over the next three or four weeks or so.
With news that LSU’s Ben Simmons is declaring for the 2016 NBA Draft, now would be a great time to check out some other prospects, preferably whose teams are still alive in the Big Dance. The push for the draft is now well underway, and while next weekend will help solidify draft status for a handful of players, get a head start on knowing who to check for with this slideshow by Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman.