- The Eastern conference semifinals features two teams with tons of playoff experience (the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics) going against two teams with essentially none (the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers) but that doesn't mean those teams, especially the Pacers, are acting like they're simply a roadblock for the higher profile teams.
- On Tuesday night the Pacers lost their second straight game, falling behind in the series 3-2 after another big game from Lebron James and Dwayne Wade. But the score (115-83 Miami) wasn't the only thing that had Indiana GM and NBA executive of the year/former superstar Larry Bird all riled up. "I can't believe my team went soft. S-O-F-T," Bird told the Indianapolis Star. "I'm disappointed. I never thought it would happen."
- Bird was mainly upset about the fact that two hard flagrant fouls, one against Lance Stephenson and one against Tyler Hansbrough (not quite on the level of this play against Hansbrough, but same ballpark) and that his team seemed to fold afterwards instead of rallying and playing tough. It also didn't help that two of Indiana's best players in Danny Granger and David West got hurt, or that a couple of Miami's supplementary players like Shane Battier and Mario Chalmers finally began to help the Heat's dynamic duo of Wade and James, but Bird was understandably livid at what he perceived to be a lack of heart and effort from Indiana.
- Bird has done this before. After losing Game 3 of the 1984 NBA Finals, Bird publicly called his teammates "sissies," and they responded by winning Game 4 and the series. He's obviously hoping for a similar result in this series.
- The Celtics and 76ers play Game 6 in Philly tonight with Boston holding a 3-2 lead. We'll talk more about this series on Friday.
The West is Set
- While the four teams left in the Eastern Conference continue to battle it out for spots in the Eastern Conference Finals, the two series in the West figured themselves out, with only one extra game.
- The San Antonio Spurs made quick work of the Los Angeles Clippers winning four straight games, by a total of 46 points. The Spurs have won 18 straight games, including their 8 playoff games and are looking dominant. They are playing a style of basketball that is unusual in the NBA today without a single dominant player, instead employing 3 future Hall of Famers on the down sides of their careers, as well as a handful of replacement level player to fill out their roster.
- The Spurs will move on to face the Oklahoma City Thunder, who beat the Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 in their best of 7 series. The Thunder relied on their big three players, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden (who combined for 70 points in Game 5) to shut out the Lakers, who go back to LA searching for answers on the long term plan for the team.
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