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Sports
ESPN Teams With Netflix For 10-Part Documentary About Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan is now a billionaire businessman after an iconic career as a basketball player. Here he hugs the NBA Championship Trophy after the Bulls defeated the Los Ange- les Lakers 4-1 after Game 5 of the NBA Finals on June 12, 1991.
'When LeBron Leaves': At This Rate, Why Would LeBron James Stay In Cleveland?
LEBRON JAMES
LeBron James tore the ice pack off his left knee and tossed it left-handed toward the garbage can sitting 10 feet away in the visiting locker room at TD Garden.
He peeled the cellophane from his right knee, removed the ice pack and took aim for the bottom of the same trash can. Two-for-two.
Next was the ice pack that encased his lower back. This time, he tossed it straight to a locker room attendant wearing a Boston Celtics T-shirt and dreadlocks. A pinpoint pass, to be sure.
Even in the aftermath of a bitter postseason defeat—and staring at the most treacherous path to the NBA Finals he's faced in a decade—James was making all the plays late Tues- day night.
And it still wasn't enough.
"We're going to use these days to really dive in on what needs to be done to help our ballclub be successful," James said after his brilliant 42-point triple-double couldn't rescue the Cleveland Cavaliers, who fell into an 0-2 hole in the East- ern Conference Finals with a 107-94 loss to the Celtics.
James didn't repeat his line from Game 1 (15 points, nine assists, seven rebounds) on Tuesday night and didn't say he had "zero level of concern at this stage" like he did on Sun- day. Perhaps that's because this is a stage he hasn't stood on in years. It's the first time James has faced an 0-2 deficit in an Eastern Conference playoff se- ries since the second round against Boston in 2008.
It was the 15th time he'd faced the possibility of going down 0-2 in a postseason se- ries. He's now 8-7 in those Game 2s. In the prior series in which he's trailed 0-2, James is 2-4.
That's a lot of history, a lot of mileage. And as he's done so many times, James came out of his corner like Mike Tyson used to and started landing haymakers and gut-wrenching body blows to a Celtics team that had been bracing for ex- actly that—and withstood it.
Marcus Smart Calls Out JR Smith For ‘Dirty’ Play
Eastern Conference – Finals
No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers
Celtics lead 2-0
Game 1 in Boston: Celtics 108, Cavaliers 83
Game 2 in Boston: Celtics 107, Cavaliers 94
Game 3 in Cleveland: Saturday May 19, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN Game 4 in Cleveland: Monday May 21, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN Game 5 in Boston: Wednesday May 23, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
(if necessary)
Western Conference – Finals
No. 1 Houston Rockets vs. No. 2 Golden State Warriors Series Tied 1-1
Game 1 in Houston: Warriors 119, Rockets 106
Game 2 in Houston: Warriors 105, Rockets 127
Game 3 in Oakland: Sunday May 20, 8 p.m. ET, TNT Game 4 in Oakland: Tuesday May 22, 9 p.m. ET, TNT Game 5 in Houston: Thursday May 24, 9 p.m. ET, TNT (if necessary)
ESPN Films and Netflix are pooling their resources to present something that’s long overdue, a documentary series profiling the life and career of NBA icon Michael Jordan.
Due in 2019, “The Last Dance” is a 10-part docu- mentary that has the full
blessing of Jordan and will include his participation in the series.
Once cut from his varsity high school basketball team as a sophomore, His Airness went on to become among the greatest basketball play- ers in NBA history, if not the greatest.
Marcus Smart called out JR Smith for his “dirty” play against Al Horford on Tues- day night.
During the fourth quarter of Game 2 of the Eastern Con- ference Finals between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, Smith pushed Horford from behind to pre- vent an easy basket. Smart came over to get in Smith’s face after the play, leading both to get technical fouls. Smith also was called for a flagrant 1 foul for pushing Horford.
“It’s not the first time J.R. has done some dirty stuff, es-
MARCUS SMART
pecially playing against us. He’s known for it, especially playing against us. We know that. It’s like a bully; you keep letting a bully pick on you, he’s going to keep picking on you until you stand up.”
Robert Parish Criticizes Joel Embiid For Not Being In Shape
There has been some talk about Joel Embiid needing to improve his conditioning this offseason, and one of the best big men to ever play the game feels that criticism is warranted.
On Monday, Boston Celtics legend Robert Parish was asked how he would have ap- proached going up against Embiid if the two played in the same era. Parish said he would focus on making Em- biid run as much as possible.
“Run his jock strap off, for starters, because he’s not in shape,” Parish said. “I would make him play defense and run his jock strap off every
JOEL EMBIID
chance I got. By the fourth quarter, he’d be drained. Trust me on that.”
Embiid has dealt with a number of injuries early in his career, and this was really the first full season he has played in.
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