Boston Celtics vs New York Knicks April 23, 2013

Tweet

The Boston Celtics visit the New York Knicks in Game 2 of an Eastern Conference first-round series on Monday night.

touches and better shots in the postseason (this after he had a quiet Game 1, offensively). How does Garnett get himself easier looks? "Just play basketball, man," he said. "Our sets are called and our plays are designed for, obviously, movement, opportunity. Within those opportunities, I've just got to be aggressive with those, without coming out of formality or what we've been doing since this point. When I get baskets it's because I've taken advantage of options within the offense and I haven't over-stepped or anything outside of that. So I'm going to stick with that, but obviously being more aggressive with the opportunities that I do get."

The Celtics were plagued by 21 turnovers in Saturday's Game 1 loss. What's more, many of those turnovers were what Paul Pierce dubbed "boneheaded" plays. Celtics coach Doc Rivers thinks it's as simple as making better decisions with the ball -- and lowering the degree of difficulty on some passes. "I thought most are turnovers were forced, guys were trying to do too much with the pass," said Rivers. "The good news is they were trying to pass, the bad news is they were trying to pass. Some of the passes, really, should have just been down the sideline and to the post, instead of the guy with the ball was trying to make the pass. Again, they are correctable, but give the Knicks credit, some of those turnovers were forced by Kidd and some by their hands."

The Boston Celtics enter Game 2 in Madison Square Garden with plenty of reason to believe they can tie the series at one game apiece. Boston held the Knicks to 85 points in the first game, but their lack of offensive punch was on display. The Celtics made only 27 of their 65 field goals but lost by just eight points -- a margin that can easily be overcome if they tighten up their offensive decision-making and take advantage of the Knicks' defense.

New York's half-court defense focused on Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, but Boston can take advantage of the Knicks' overcommitment by slowing down the remaining "big two." Here are a few areas that Boston can exploit the Knicks and open up their offense.

Milwaukee Bucks vs Miami Heat April 23, 2013

Tweet

With the first two days of the NBA playoffs in the bag, fans are starting to make series predictions. Some teams are struggling without key players, while some are clicking on all cylinders.

One team that seems to be pretty much unstoppable has to be the Miami Heat.

The Heat are facing the Milwaukee Bucks and seem to have the advantage in every aspect of the series. I bumped into my boy Lance Fresh out in Miami, and we broke down the “swag" matchup going on between the Heat and the Bucks.

We talked “Best Jerseys,” “Best Dressed,” “Best Player Celebrations” and more in a “Best-of-Seven” matchup.

Which team has the most swag? Which category did you disagree with? Comment below.

No. 1 Miami Heat (66-16) vs. No. 8 Milwaukee Bucks (38-44)

Game 1 in Miami: Sunday, April 21, 7, TNT
Game 2 in Miami: Tuesday, April 23, 7:30, NBATV
Game 3 in Milwaukee: Thursday, April 25, 7, TNT
Game 4 in Milwaukee: Sunday, April 28, 3:30, ABC
Game 5 in Miami: Tuesday, April 30
Game 6 in Milwaukee: Thursday, May 2
Game 7 in Miami: Saturday, May 4
Season series: Heat won 3-1.

Points per game (per 100 possessions): Heat 102.9, Bucks 98.9 (Heat 110.3, Bucks 100.9).

Points allowed per game (per 100 possessions): Heat 95.0, Bucks 100.4 (Heat 100.5, Bucks 102.3).

Matchups worth watching: Bucks center Larry Sanders vs. Heat center Chris Bosh, Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings vs. Heat point guard Mario Chalmers.

Scoring leaders: Heat forward LeBron James (26.8 PPG), Bucks guard Monta Ellis (19.2 PPG).

Why Miami will win: The Heat are the best team in the NBA and clearly the best team in this series. James and Dwyane Wade are much better than their Bucks counterparts and shouldn't have issues dominating. And Milwaukee has struggled in April.

Bayern Munich vs Barcelona April 23, 2013

Tweet

Bayern Munich face the litmus test in their bid to become the first German team to win the treble of European, league and cup titles when they host Spanish giants Barcelona in Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final, first-leg.

Having swept aside all rivals to win this season’s Bundesliga title, Bayern are bidding to reach their third Champions League final in four years, but Spanish champions-elect Barcelona block their path to Wembley.

Bayern warmed-up for the showdown at Munich’s Allianz Arena with a 6-1 win at Hanover 96 on Saturday, the same scoreline by which they routed Wolfsburg in last Wednesday’s German Cup semi-final.

Coach Jupp Heynckes dropped a hint for Tuesday by incorporating both strikers Mario Gomez and Claudio Pizarro into a 4-4-2 formation, rather than Bayern’s usual 4-2-3-1 line-up.

With first-choice forward Mario Mandzukic suspended, Gomez has staked a strong case to face Barcelona with a hat-trick in six minutes against Wolfsburg, then two goals in Hanover.

Likewise Pizarro set up both Gomez’s goals at Hanover while scoring two of his own, and with an eye on Barcelona the 34-year-old boldly declared: “We’re better, we have more quality in our squad”.

Arsenal have proved Bayern are far from unbeatable in Munich with a 2-0 win as the Gunners lost the last 16 tie on away goals after the Germans’ 3-1 victory in London, but the hosts have belief in abundance.

“We are confident and we are assuming we will go through,” said Bayern’s director of sport Matthias Sammer, as the Bavarians claimed three more Bundesliga records at Hanover.

Bastian Schweinsteiger against Xavi is one of the most intriguing battles of the tie. Both the highly-skilled midfielders are key to their respective sides.

Schweinsteiger has been an indispensable presence for the Bavarians. Starting his career as an innocuous winger, the Bayern youth product was converted to a robust box-to-box midfielder by Louis van Gaal, and now is considered to be one of the best in the business. With his tireless running and tackling ability combined with his exemplary vision, he has proved to be a match winner on numerous occasions.

Meanwhile Barcelona have the most successful passing rate in the competition, and Spanish veteran Xavi has been the catalyst behind Barca's success. Pulling the strings from a deep-lying role, Xavi's precise passing and ability to find his teammates could prove to be a matter of concern for the Bavarians. Along with his extraordinary vision, Xavi poses a great threat from set-pieces too.

On Tuesday, the Champions League returns with a semifinal pairing of Bayern Munich and Barcelona, this season's top two teams in Germany and Spain, respectively. Without thinking too hard, one could easily argue that these are the top two teams in Europe.
Barcelona features in the semifinals of Europe's elite continental competition for a record sixth consecutive year. The achievement adequately describes Barcelona's reign over European football during the Lionel Messi era.