Community Picks: Portland Trail Blazers 0% vs Los Angeles Clippers 0%

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- - Blake Griffin is healthy just in time for the playoffs. "Blake's had not only five games, but some practice time as well. Griffin missed 45 games because of a partially torn right quad and a fractured right hand from a fight with an assistant equipment manager. Continue to Article

April 16, 2016 4:30:pm EST

One of the wackier NBA regular seasons in history is over, for better or worse, and the two-month playoff run is set to begin. With the first round upon us, the minds at Ball Don't Lie decided to preview each series. Here's our look at the No. 4-seeded Los Angeles Clippers and No. 5 Portland Trail Blazers. How They Got Here • Los Angeles : By bouncing back from both a crushing second-round collapse against the Houston Rockets with a stunning comeback of their own — convincing defensive linchpin DeAndre Jordan to pull an about-face, renege on his agreement to join the Dallas Mavericks in free agency, and return to L.A. on a new four-year deal. (ICYMI: emojis .) With Jordan back in the fold to anchor the Clippers' D, wreak havoc rolling to the rim and rejoin stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin in pursuit of a title, coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers set about improving what was one of the league's worst benches last season in his own inimitable way — chiefly, by acquiring players who had played well against his team at some point in the past or are related to him . The results were ... spotty, with an early heartbreaker of a loss to the Golden State Warriors suggesting the Clips as a clear tier below the Western elite and touching off a stretch of inconsistent play that had L.A. just three games over .500 heading into Christmas Day. And then things got worse, with Griffin tearing a tendon in his left quadriceps ... and then, stunningly, things got better, as the Clippers found new life by digging in on defense and doubling down on the CP3-DeAndre pick-and-roll. The Clippers made lemons into lemonade, going 30-15 with Griffin on the shelf, as the All-Star point guard masterfully orchestrated a pristinely spaced attack, aided by sharpshooter (and noted podcast host ) J.J. Redick turning in the best season of his career and leading the NBA in 3-point accuracy, while Jordan marshalled a defensive improvement that saw L.A. rank fifth in points allowed per possession during the three months Griffin missed to rehabilitate his quad injury ... and to heal the surgically repaired shooting hand that he broke in a fight with his friend (who is also the Clippers' assistant equipment manager ), an incident that also earned him a four-game suspension . The Clippers reactivated Griffin in time for the final seven games of the season; he's had a considerable amount of rust to knock off, but has also shown some flashes of his All-NBA-level all-around talent. On one hand, L.A. finished 5-0 in the games Griffin played, outscoring opponents by 73 points in his 123 minutes of floor time, and the Clips' starting five has absolutely crushed the competition since his return. On the other, those five games came against three lottery teams (the Wizards, the Lakers twice) and two injury-riddled lower-tier Western playoff squads (Dallas, Memphis), leaving room for some doubt as to whether relying on a sub-100 percent version of Griffin might come back to bite L.A. against healthy, talented, determined, real-deal opposition. Oh, and the Clippers have a mascot now. Many folks, including Kanye West , dislike him. I think that about covers it. • Portland: By proving that losing four members of a starting five with title aspirations isn't all that bad if you manage to hang on to the right one. Continue to Article

April 15, 2016 5:56:pm EST

(Reuters) - Brief profiles of the eight Western Conference teams that qualified for the 2016 National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs: GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS Regular season record: 73-9 How they qualified: First in conference Head coach: Steve Kerr Top scorer: Stephen Curry (30.1 points per game) Top rebounder: Draymond Green (9.5 rebounds per game) NBA titles: Three (*1956, 1975, 2015) Joined NBA: 1949 *As Philadelphia Warriors - - SAN ANTONIO SPURS Regular season record: 67-15 How they qualified: Second in conference Head coach: Gregg Popovich Top scorer: Kawhi Leonard (21. ... Continue to Article

April 15, 2016 10:51:am EST

Everyone expected a great goodbye, but no one expected 60 points from Kobe Bryant in his final game. Pau Gasol, Russell Westbrook and LeBron James praised his final performance, but one former teammate didn't have very nice things to say. Kobe Bean!! — LeBron James (@KingJames) April 14, 2016 60!! — LeBron James (@KingJames) April 14, 2016 UNBELIEVABLE MAN!!! #MambaDay — LeBron James (@KingJames) April 14, 2016 Kobe 👀 — Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) April 14, 2016 No words can describe this last game by @kobebryant ! Pure GREATNESS!! #60points #MambaDay #ThankYouKobe — Pau Gasol (@paugasol) April 14, 2016 This dude is not real at 37 years old! #mambaday — DeAndre Jordan (@deandrejordan6) April 14, 2016 That's my dogggggg #besttodoit — Russell Westbrook (@russwest44) April 14, 2016 Congrats, @kobebryant 🐍 — Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 14, 2016 Congratulations on an amazing career. #ThankYouKobe pic.twitter.com/XUo3hCoA4y — LA Clippers (@LAClippers) April 14, 2016 Double-checking @NBAStats 🤔 yep.. 60... #NBAScratchReel #ThankYouKobe pic.twitter.com/qUotAY4g7f — NBA (@NBA) April 14, 2016 KOBE BEAN BRYANT 🔥🔥🔥 what a show — Quincy Pondexter (@QuincyPondexter) April 14, 2016 Easy 60??! Wow #MambaDay — GiannisAntetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) April 14, 2016 #MambaOut pic.twitter.com/2x9GQr7XfO — MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) April 14, 2016 . @kobebryant scoring 60 points in his last game is the greatest final performance that I've ever seen in sports! — Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 14, 2016 Smush Parker, or an account purporting to be Kobe's former teammate, played the role of Debbie Downer... Once a ball hog, always a ball hog — Smush Parker (@smushparker) April 14, 2016 Continue to Article

April 14, 2016 1:38:am EST