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LeBron James wins incredible Game One

Written by Philip Rossman-Reich on .

LeBron James capped off an incredible Game One overtime victory against the Pacers with, well, just watch:

Miami Heat take Game One in overtime 103-102 over the Indiana Pacers. The Eastern Conference Finals are off to a roaring start.

LeBron's game winner was just the capstone on a miraculous night of clutch shots and competitive basketball. The game was close the entire way with some up-and-down play throughout. Forcing overtime came down to Paul George making a couple of clutch shots, including a game-tying 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left in regulation.

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Tony Parker to undergo MRI

Written by Philip Rossman-Reich on .

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images/Zimbio

Spurs guard Tony Parker will undergo an MRI on Thursday to examine his calf ahead of Saturday's Game Three in the Western Conference Finals, Jared Greenberg of NBATV report (h/t Project Spurs).

Parker suffered a calf and ankle injury initially in San Antonio's series with Golden State when Andrew Bogut kicked him in the shin. Parker was able to play through that injury despite the injury swelling to a "baseball" size knot. It is unclear whether Parker has continued playing through the injury and is merely using the three-day break to check up on the injury and make sure no further damage is being done or if he re-aggravated it in Tuesday's Game Two victory.

Parker turned in an impressive performance in Game Two against the Grizzlies, scoring 15 points and recording a playoff career-high 18 assists as the Spurs held on in overtime. Parker struggled though in the fourth quarter, shooting two for eight from the floor and recording no assists. San Antonio scored only nine points as Memphis erased an 18-point deficit.

During that time it looked as if Parker and the Spurs were wearing out after racing out to such a big lead and relying on Parker to create so much -- he had six assists in the second quarter and eight in the third quarter as the Spurs built their lead. A re-aggravation of this injury certainly would explain some of the fall off from this key player in Tuesday's game.

San Antonio will be sitting on bated breath waiting to hear whether Parker will be good to go for the rest of the Playoffs.

For complete Western Conference Finals coverage, check out Project Spurs.

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Stan Van Gundy won't coach next year

Written by Philip Rossman-Reich on .

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images/ZimbioJust about every coaching opening so far -- from Milwaukee to Brooklyn to even Charlotte -- has tried to entice one of the best free agent coaches. Now, he has told them it might be time to back off for now.

Stan Van Gundy told SportsTalk 1080 AM in Orlando on Tuesday that he does not plan to coach next year, opting to spend time with his family and enjoy his semi-retirement. This was, of course, before the Clippers announced they would not retain Vinny Del Negro after his contract expired at the end of the season.

As you get down the road more and the longer you are out, the harder it is to get back in and that was certainly a difficult part of the decision process for me because it’s certainly something that I miss and don’t want to close the door on for the rest of my life, but, it is not right now anyway, in the best interest of my family, so it won’t be next year.

This time Van Gundy is REALLY spending more time with his family -- the supposed reason he stepped down from Miami before their 2006 championship run.

During last year's offseason, a source told Crossover Chronicles that Van Gundy was indeed focusing on spending time with his family. That is not something that would seem to change in a year, and the source seemed to intimate that would not change. Stan Van Gundy told Baumann on Tuesday that he has had people call, but he never advanced it to an interview. Van Gundy said the decision not to coach next year until a few weeks ago after discussions with his family.

Van Gundy said he would be interested in returning to coaching. But he said it would be unfair to his family to move them with where his kids are in school.

In his year off, Van Gundy has worked for NBC Sports Radio and the NBC Sports Network as a radio analyst and then as a color commentator for NBC Sports Network's college basketball coverage.

Van Gundy though seems certain he will return to an NBA sideline in the future. He still views himself as a coach.

Even though he has missed out a year, Van Gundy should remain at the top of several job openings.

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Video: Spiderman hits the court in NYC

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

It seems a few kids in New York City got quite the treat as "Spiderman" shot a couple of hoops with them.

In case you didn't know, the second installment of "The Amazing Spiderman" is currently being filmed in NYC and during a break in filming, actor Andrew Garfield joined a couple of kids on the court in full Spiderman costume (h/t Guyism).

Check out "Spidey" living up to his rep as being the "friendly neighborhood Spiderman" and giving the fans watching a nice memory for the ages.

At least he didn't use his webbing to block some shots or stick to the rim for easy dunks.

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Grizzlies remain confident heading to Game Two

Written by Philip Rossman-Reich on .

Pool/Getty Images/ZimbioBy all accounts, the Spurs thoroughly routed the Grizzlies in Game One of the Western Conference Finals.

The stage looked a bit too big for the first-time conference finalists from Memphis as the team ran into the buzzsaw that is Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs. In Game One, at least, experience won out. It was more than that though because that alone should not account for a 105-83 final score that seemed and was a lot worse for much of the game.

Sure, the Grizzlies brought the score to within six points in the third quarter. The Spurs though hit the gas and had the lead back out to 26 into the fourth quarter. That does not even get into Zach Randolph's no-show in this game, one that he felt the need to apologize for in the locker room after the game.

It is just one game though. That was the message the Grizzlies brought with them to the locker room after the game.

"They just came out and threw the first punch," Grizzlies guard Tony Allen told Project Spurs. "We just have to come out here and compete and match their intensity. We have a chance to come out here and win the series so all they did in the past is in the past."

This mentality certainly should help the Grizzlies put any of the failures of Game One behind them and focus in on trying to win home-court advantage with a win at the AT&T Center on Tuesday night. That is easier said than done however.

The Grizzlies are not likely to give up 52.6 percent shooting for a consecutive game or allow the Spurs to make 14 of 29 3-pointers. San Antonio played extremely well, but it should be expected that the team will fall back to its mean. That means the Grizzlies have to find a way to score and take advantage from that likely statistical result.

Falling behind 2-0 would not be the end of the world though if the Grizzlies maintain their confidence. They have not lost a game at home this postseason and they were down 2-0 to the Clippers before winning four straight to take the series. Memphis has beaten good teams this postseason after tough losses on the road or at home.

San Antonio might be a different animal for this Memphis squad. Tonight, the Grizzlies get their shot at some redemption and to see if they can hang around in this series.

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Clippers fire Vinny Del Negro

Written by Philip Rossman-Reich on .

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images/Zimbio

The Los Angeles Clippers have fired coach Vinny Del Negro, NBA sources tell Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, ending an embattled tenure that saw Del Negro lead the Clippers to new heights for the franchise, yet still not climb over the top to championship contention.

The Clippers were 128-102 under Del Negro in three seasons. He took over a team that had the No. 1 pick in Blake Griffin playing his first season after sitting out his rookie season with injury. He struck it big when the Clippers moved to acquire Chris Paul. The franchise's fortunes changed dramatically.

Del Negro's teams the past two years had records with a win percentage better than 60 percent. He guided the Clippers to back-to-back Playoffs appearances for the first time since the franchise moved to Los Angeles and won a Playoff series in 2012, defeating the Grizzlies on the road in Game Seven to escape from the first round.

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CC video of the day: Best playoff series of the decade

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

The 2013 NBA postseason has given fans some memorable games. From the Spurs' huge comeback win against the Warriors in Game 1 of their semifinals matchup to the Bulls testing the Heat during their series, these playoffs haven't been without excitement, drama, and memorable moments.

However, this begs the question... which playoff series has been the best of the best in the decade?

TNT is pondering this question and the nominees range from the Lakers-Kings rivalry, Lakers-Blazers testy series to the Spurs-Mavs epic playoff clashes.

Check out some of the most intense, brutal, and exciting playoff series from the past decade. Which is your favorite Crossover fans?

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Shabazz Muhammed calls himself best player in draft

Written by Trevor Zickgraf on .

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images/ZimbioThe NBA draft has not even happened yet, but next year's Rookie of the Year sleeper may be its most recognizable name. 

Before the season started, UCLA's Shabazz Muhammed was one of the few household names in college basketball. He was one of three players, along with Nerlens Noel and Cody Zeller, projected to be candidates for the top pick overall in the draft.

The season came and went and between a suspension, an injury, being a year older than believed, and lower than expected output sent Muhammed from a top three pick all the way down to possibly a late lottery pick.

Thanks in part to all of the criticism, Muhammed not only showed up at the Draft Combine in Chicago last week and not only competed in the physical tests, but also in the skills competition, which most top propects skip.  Speaking to the media afterwards, Muhammed said despite all that happened this year he still considers himself the best player in the draft. (H/T to Michael Lee of the Washington Post)

Being the number one guy, everybody wants you to fall. Guys want you to fall all the time. You’re going to have guys out there that’s not going to want you to succeed. That’s why I’m going to work as hard as I can to prove those guys wrong.

I know I’m a great player. I’m a guy that believes he’s the best player in the draft. I’m going to tell you the truth.”

There's no complete prospect in this draft. 

At 6-foot-6, Muhammed might be a little undersized to play small forward in the NBA (though his 6-foot-11 wingspan helps). And it is unclear if he is quick enough to defend shooting guards. 

Still, he can score, he plays as hard as anyone else and he wants to win. Several times during the season Muhammed was the guy to hit a big shot late in a game to help UCLA win the Pac-12 regular season title.  And now, he has a chip on his shoulder because of how his falling stock.

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Shootaround: Just another team

Written by Philip Rossman-Reich on .

 Vogel: I never said Heat were 'just another team'
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There is nothing like some media-manufactured words to get the blood boiling. Especially when the supposed perpetrator and poster of that bulleting board material did not actually say the words attributed to him. Or, even if he did, probably got taken out of context anyway.

ZimbioThe latest "controversy" (emphasis on the quotation marks) occurred when LeBron James was told that Pacers coach Frank Vogel referred to the Heat as "just another team." James took exception to that comment taking it to mean the Pacers did not respect the Heat and viewed them as just another opponent.

Not how it was actually mean in that the Heat are the next team in the Pacers' way to winning a championship.

Or not that Vogel actually said the heinous comment.

Vogel re-iterated his respect for the Heat and clarified his comment -- which was actually that the Heat are "the next team in our way" -- Monday as Indiana prepares for its first game against Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals.

This sounds like another case of the media fishing for a story or media recording. The damage might be done with James already commenting about it and using it as motivation.

Of course, Vogel and the Heat have a history. Vogel was fined during last year's conference semifinals for saying the Heat flop too much. There is definitely little love lost. And Wednesday is still a few days away.

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CC video of the day: Tony Parker shreds Grizzlies' defense in Game 1

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

Heading into the postseason, Memphis was tops in the league in defense holding teams to 89.3 points during the regular season. In the playoffs, the Grizzlies are holding teams to 92.4 points but in Game 1 of the West Finals, Spurs' Tony Parker made short-work of the vaunted Memphis defense.

Parker scored almost at will during Game 1, finishing with 20 points, 9 assists, and shooting 9-14 from the field leading San Antonio to a 105-83 win.

From scoring in the paint, knocking down the outside shot to driving in the paint and finding the open man for a clear look at the rim, TP abused Memphis during his 32 minutes on the court.

Check out Parker making it look too easy versus the Grizzlies.

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