Time is running out on the Carolina Hurricanes – they are 1-8-1 in their last 10 games and are sliding out of the Eastern Conference playoff race. Their task doesn’t get any easier on Monday night when they travel to Boston to take on a Bruins team looking to rebound after losing to division rival Montreal on Saturday night.
Both Louisville and Michigan have had impressive runs to the title game and overall the Cardinals have not lost since early February Louisville had to come back in their last game using their great pressure defense to come back to win by 4 points.
I know I am supposed to write about Louisville but I have to throw some love to the Wichita State Shockers here. They pushed the Cardinals more than anybody expected and could easily have won the game.
The Orange were very impressive last week in earning their spot in the Final Four. They put forth two fantastic defensive games holding Indiana and Marquette to an average of just 45 points.
There was a lot of talk this season about how there wasn’t a dominant team in the college game. Louisville is making us second guess all of that rhetoric.
Late last May it looked like the Indiana Pacers were really on to something. They had the Miami Heat in a bit of a box, up 2-1 in their second-round playoff series, with Game 4 at home.
The Pirates failed to use the Chicago Cubs to get off to a good start. The most concerning aspect of dropping two of three to Chicago was the fact that the lineup scored just three runs over the course of the series.
Retooled Rangers Take on Scuffling Penguins Friday Night
The New York Rangers will try to make it two in a row this week against the Eastern Conference leading Pittsburgh Penguins when they head to Consol Energy Center Friday night.
Can this marriage be saved?
Can Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard actually pull things together over the final two weeks to get the Lakers into the playoffs and make things interesting for either the Spurs or Thunder in the first round?
Signs are pointing toward the affirmative.
Memphis Grizzlies (51-24) at Los Angeles Lakers (39-36)
Staples Center, Los Angeles
10:30 p.m. EST
Bryant has shaken off the effects of that sprained ankle and has been playing huge minutes in the Lakers’ push to hold off Utah for the 8th and final Western Conferece playoff slot. Mike D’Antoni kept KB on the court for all but 23 seconds in a win over Sacramento, and Bryant logged more than 47 in Tuesday’s victory over Dallas.
And Howard has stopped goofing off and now has double-digits in rebounds 21 straight games – and 14 consecutive double-doubles.
Has the drama which dominated the Lakers’ season through February finally ended at the Staples Center? Has LA finally figured out that the way to win games is to actually play hard and put aside petty jealousies?
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Looks like it.
But even if the Lakers have their waste product together for the final push, there are no guarantees. Bryant points out that while the remainder of the schedule includes 6 of the final 7 at the Staples Center, there are some toughies in there – including tonight’s game against a Memphis Grizzlies club that has its own fight on its hands and is trying to finish strong enough to steal the No. 3 playoff seed in the Western Conference.
Besides the Grizzlies, LA has home games against the Clippers, Hornets, Warriors, Spurs and Rockets. Utah’s schedule is a bit softer, but the Jazz (a half-game behind the Lakers) have a 3-3 home/road split, starting with the Hornets tonight in Salt Lake City.
“We have a tougher schedule but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Bryant said when asked about Jazz. “If you want to get to the playoffs and expect to make some noise, you have to beat playoff teams.”
And that would start tonight against the Grizzlies in a game which could turn on the play of point guards Steve Nash and Mike Conley.
Nash is expected to return after missing one game with a hamstring issue, and will be put to the test.
Louisville is coming off a huge win over Duke in the Elite 8 and they have a huge lift for this game after one of their key bench players Kevin Ware was lost for the season with a terrible injury.
In a match up of a couple of #4 seeds Michigan faces Syracuse where the winner will head to the National Championship game. The Orange have played stellar D in their last 2 Big Dance games and they will be facing a great Michigan squad that has knocked off Kansas and Florida, who are a couple of top 10 teams, in advancing to the Final 4.
Did beating Miami and ending the Heat’s 27-game winning streak take too much out of the Chicago Bulls?
The NBA is no country for old men. All around the league 30-plus veterans are limping as they approach the finish line and a playoff season that provides decent rest between games (thanks, TV).
Slumping Devils Try To Right the Ship in Boston Thursday Night
The New Jersey Devils, losers of four straight games will try to get back in the win column Thursday night but the chore won’t be easy. Their opponent is one of the NHL elite – the Boston Bruins who endured a small hiccup during a 2-4-1 stretch ended last week.
The Phillies have not gotten off to a good start and are looking to salvage a game in this opening series against division rival Atlanta. Starter Roy Halladay gave a confounding performance yesterday, racking up the strikeouts while giving up the long ball.
Eight games left in the regular season and the Denver Nuggets are pretty much fat and happy as they ready for the playoffs.
