SB Nation Boston: All Posts by Jason Patt

• Pacers upend Knicks, take 3-1 series lead

Bulls vs. Heat Game 5 preview: The end of the road?

2013-05-15T16:02:53Z

After the initial disappointment of that putrid Game 4 went away, a sense of calm washed over me. It was the feeling of the inevitable, where these plucky Bulls just have nothing left in the tank and are no match for a Heat team that's now one win away from the conference finals. This Bulls team that has made us proud for much of the postseason is running on empty, and they will almost assuredly be Gone Fishin' after Game 5 tonight in Miami. And you know what? I'm completely okay with it.

Could the Bulls pull off another shocker in Miami? Perhaps, especially considering they've spent much of this season overcoming immense odds and winning games laughably short-handed. I certainly expect them to play better than Monday, although it would be darn near impossible to play any worse. The trio of players who have been out all series remain out, so it's the same banged-up Bulls group trotting out there yet again. Who knows? Maybe Nate Robinson goes off again. Maybe Joakim Noah gets one last triple-double. Maybe Carlos Boozer remembers that he's 270 pounds. Maybe Jimmy Butler has a game for the ages. Maybe Marco Belinelli shows off his big balls again.

But it just feels like it's time. LeBron James has already guaranteed a win, and I expect the Heat to come out and deliver a performance akin to Game 2. I sure hope the Bulls perform better and at least put up a fight, but I would not be surprised if things get ugly quick. Dwyane Wade will probably play, although he has been a non-factor this series.

No matter what happens, I'm pleased with how things have gone this postseason. And if the Bulls can steal another win and make the Heat sweat a little more, that would be pretty awesome. But I'm about ready for this season to end, and I'm ready to look forward to next season when the Bulls will once again have the talent edge over most teams in the NBA.

Sixers guard Nick Young sued for alleged date rape

2013-05-15T15:07:47Z

Philadelphia 76ers guard Nick Young was sued Tuesday by a woman alleging that he drugged her and then proceeded to have non-consensual sex with her, according to CBS Los Angeles.

The woman - going by the alias Jane Doe - filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Young and the Crown Bar in West Hollywood. There are a wide range of allegations and the woman is seeking unspecified damages.

The incident allegedly happened on Aug. 12, 2011 at the Crown Bar. The woman was at the bar with a friend when Young approached them. Young had met the woman twice before, and he offered her and her friend champagne. The suit alleges that the drink given to the plaintiff contained Gamma-Hydroxbutyric acid or GHB, which is known as the date-rape drug.

The woman allegedly does not remember what happened after she drank the champagne, but she believes that Young took her back to his apartment, where she alleges he had sex with her. When the woman woke up the next morning and asked Young why they were naked in his apartment, the Sixers' guard allegedly said that they had started having sex but then stopped when she passed out.

The suit says that ensuing tests showed GHB in the woman's system, and it also states that she underwent exams at the UCLA Santa Monica Rape Treatment Center. In addition, she has reportedly undergone psychiatric evaluations and treatment.

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Mike Woodson pushing wrong buttons vs. Pacers

2013-05-15T14:43:19Z

All season long, the New York Knicks had success playing small ball. Specifically, the Knicks usually used a two point guard lineup and surrounded Carmelo Anthony with shooters to create a devastating long-range attack that helped lead to 54 regular season wins.

With his team down 2-1 heading into Game 4 against the Indiana Pacers, Knicks head coach Mike Woodson abandoned that identity in favor of a bigger lineup in an attempt to match up better with the Pacers' frontcourt. Kenyon Martin replaced Pablo Prigioni in the starting lineup, which moved Anthony to the 3, a position he has not played much in this series.

The plan backfired, as Indiana still managed to win the rebounding battle 56-36 while scoring 36 points in the paint to just 26 for New York. Woodson said changing his team's fortunes on the glass is an absolute must if the Knicks are to get back in the series.

"Rebounding wise we got hammered on the boards again," Woodson said. "We're going to have to get to a point where we go home, we have to realize that we're going to have to rebound the basketball. I thought that's what hurt us in crucial situations when we would make a slight run, they would get another second chance opportunity and they capitalized on it. That's really what has hurt us. That was the big difference tonight again."

Not helping the Knicks' cause is that they are simply missing some wide open looks, shots that they were burying with far more regularity during the season. Anthony and J.R. Smith have been in a funk, while Jason Kidd has not made a basket in three weeks. Iman Shumpert went 0-of-6 and played just 16 minutes, although Woodson said that had nothing to do with the guard's sore left knee.

While it's tough to blame Woodson for guys missing open shots, he can be blamed for some of his lineup decisions. Kidd is a liability on both sides of the ball, so there's little reason to play him over Prigioni, especially when you look at the numbers. According to NBA.com, the Knicks have a net rating of 18.4 points per 100 possessions in 182 minutes when Prigioni is on the floor in these playoffs. In the 303 minutes he has been off the floor, the Knicks' net rating is -5.6. In Kidd's 235 minutes in the postseason, the Knicks' net rating is a dreadful -7.2, compared to 12.9 in the 250 minutes he has been on the bench.

Kidd played 16 minutes on Tuesday while Prigioni played just over three, and Woodson did not have a good answer for why that was the case.

"He (Prigioni) played under four minutes. I'm not going to sit and explain it," Woodson said. "Right now, I'm reaching and trying to find combinations that will work. We have to find some guys that can put the ball in the hole."

Those "guys" Woodson talked about could be Chris Copeland and Steve Novak, who combined to go 3-of-4 from deep in limited minutes on Tuesday. While neither player is much of a defender, their shooting could inject some much-needed offense into a struggling team. They really could not be much worse than Kidd or even Smith at this point, who has been battling an illness and is shooting just 28.1 percent for the series.

After four games, it does appear that the Pacers are the better team. However, going away from the small ball identity was a panic move by Woodson, and there are some other clear adjustments he should make that would likely give the Knicks a better chance of winning. Woodson's performance in Game 4 was not a good one, leading to this analysis from SB Nation's Knicks blog Posting and Toasting:

But I'm watching Woodson mutter through a press conference right now and he's treating missed shots like they were the only thing. They were not. Or, if they were, it's his fault. The weird lineups and intentionally scrambled defense made it so the Knicks were either going to suddenly start draining jumpers they'd been missing for over a week against a brilliant defense...or they were going to lose. They lost. So yeah, like CharlieObrian commented, everyone choked, starting with that coach. Woodson doubled down on everything that had been failing and everything that had been failing doubled down on failing. That's quadrupling down, you guys.

Woodson and his Knicks will try to stave off elimination in Game 5 back at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

Woodson quotes via NBA.com.

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Pistons coaching search turns to Pacers' Brian Shaw, according to report

2013-05-15T13:53:34Z

The Detroit Pistons have contacted Indiana Pacers associate head coach Brian Shaw about an interview for their open head coaching position, according to Tom Leyden of ABC 7.

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Shaw is a natural candidate for the Pistons job considering Phil Jackson is acting as a consultant for the hire. Shaw both played for and coached under Jackson with the Los Angeles Lakers, so there is a lot of familiarity between the two.

After retiring as a Laker in 2003, Shaw joined the coaching staff under Rudy Tomjanovich in 2004. Shaw remained with the team until 2011 before heading to Indiana to be a part of Frank Vogel's staff.

As associate head coach next to Vogel, Shaw has helped turn the Pacers into one of the NBA's premier defensive teams. The Pistons have really struggled defensively the past few years, so hiring Shaw to turn things around would make a lot of sense.

Shaw likely won't be able to officially interview until the Pacers' season is over. The Brooklyn Nets have also contacted Shaw about their head coaching vacancy.

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NBA playoff scores: Pacers, Spurs on brink of advancing

2013-05-15T12:03:51Z

The Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs are both now one game away from heading to the conference finals after victories on Tuesday night. The Pacers stymied the New York Knicks again, while the Spurs routed the Golden State Warriors. Let's take a look at the action.

Pacers 93, Knicks 82

George Hill had 26 points and the Pacers once again shut down the Knicks in a 93-82 victory to go up 3-1 in the series.

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Hill did much of his damage in the third quarter, scoring 14 of his 26 in the frame to help keep the Knicks at bay. Paul George shot poorly, but he finished with a line of 18 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists in 45 minutes. Lance Stephenson hit several big shots on the way to 13 points.

Indiana held New York to 35.6 percent shooting and 8-of-28 from behind the three-point arc. The Pacers also dominated the Knicks down low despite Mike Woodson going with a big lineup for much of the game. Indiana won the rebounding battle 56-36 and outscored New York by 10 in the paint.

The Pacers never trailed, jumping out to a seven-point lead after the first quarter and never looking back. That lead ballooned to 14 at halftime and was rarely below double-digits in the second half, as the Knicks were just never able to string enough buckets and stops together.

Carmelo Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, but he shot 9-of-23 and fouled out late in the fourth quarter. J.R. Smith's shooting woes continued, as he went just 7-of-22 and 3-of-10 from three. Jason Kidd failed to score again, marking the eighth straight game where he has posted a goose egg.

Spurs 109, Warriors 91

Tony Parker had 25 points and 10 assists to lead a well-oiled Spurs attack in a 109-91 victory over the Warriors. San Antonio now leads the series 3-1.

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The Spurs' offense was in high gear from the start, scoring 37 points in the first quarter. After a brief hiccup in the second quarter, San Antonio regained form in the second half to pull away from Golden State.

Kawhi Leonard had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting, while Danny Green had 16 points on 6-of-10 from the field. Tim Duncan added 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Spurs shot 51.9 percent overall and 10-of-21 from three, racking up 30 assists in the process.

Harrison Barnes had 25 points to lead the Warriors, but he did not get much help. Jarrett Jack had 20 points off the bench and Carl Landry chipped in 16, but Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined to score just 13 points on 6-of-22 shooting.

To put the cherry on top of the victory, Tracy McGrady got a few minutes of run for San Antonio, grabbing two rebounds, blocking two shots and handing out an assist.

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