The remaining five playoff teams have had relatively successful seasons. But, success is hard to manage. Talent-laden rosters often make for expensive rosters, and someone's contract often becomes a burden. So let's take a look at the amnesty candidates that remain in the playoffs:Oklahoma City, Kendrick Perkins: Simply put, he's got to go. With James Harden playing himself towards max-money and Serge Ibaka emerging as a defensive force, Perkins just can't make 25 million dollars through 2015...

The consensus among Spurs-Thunder previews is this: San Antonio should be favored. I don't disagree, but I wonder how the scale would tilt if Scott Brooks played James Harden, say 40 minutes per game. In the three games between the two teams, Harden averaged 28 minutes of burn. Within that small sample size, he was fantastic. The Beard shot 59 percent and managed 6.7 free-throw attempts (via NBA Stats Cube). You'd think he would have played more with numbers like that. Through the p...

How to Repair the Ridiculous Voting Process for NBA Awards

In a win or stay home Game 6 against the Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers went to work and were able to grab the 82-75 victory to force a Game 7 in Boston.It was an ugly game with both teams struggling to make baskets, but the Sixers pulled away late. Boston started the game flat and wasn't ever able to find its rhythm. Playing without Avery Bradley, who is nursing a shoulder injury, and with a gimpy Ray Allen in his place, the Celtics needed offensive firepower. Their bench wasn't able t...

While the Eastern Conference playoff picture has been decimated by injuries, the West's postseason outlook has more or less gone according to plan. The Western Conference Finals pits the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs against the second-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, as both of the West's finest dispatched their first two opponents with the expected ease. There were no significant injuries or serious roadblocks to deal with; just the process of extinguishing the fire of lesser teams, be they the...

Dueling flagrants in Game 5, as cooler heads are defeated. Tyler Hansbrough drew blood from Dwyane Wade on a foul that probably would have been forgiven in the 90s but was ill-advised in this era.After an official review, he got a Flagrant 1.  Udonis Haslem—who was bloodied by Louis Amundson in Game 4—responded by delivering a shot to Hansbrough, resulting in another Flagrant 1. The officials easily could have called this a Flagrant 2, which would have tossed Haslem fro...

On the heels of a resounding—if chippy—win over the Indiana Pacers, things are looking up for the Miami Heat. But, just as it would have been foolish to overreact to their Game 3 loss, it would be equally dumb to declare all problems fixed after their 115-83 Game 5 shellacking of Indiana. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are a formidable team unto themselves, but it's not enough to compete with either the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs. Udonis Haslem has provided a decent,...

Jeremy Lamb is the upside wild card pick of the 2012 NBA draft; an ultra talented, athletic wing who could be a super star in the NBA.Lamb has tremendous upside, but he is also young and raw.  He will need to be developed carefully by the right team to reach his nearly unlimited potential in professional basketball.Begin Slideshow

The NBA is a league that requires making in-game adjustments to be successful, especially in the NBA playoffs. Certain coaches do a great job like Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs while others seem to refuse to change, like Vinny Del Negro of the Los Angeles Clippers.In the seventh edition of Stat Central we're going to take a look at third quarter margin. Games are often won and lost in the third quarter when the best teams adjust to what's working and abandon what isn't.We'll view ea...

The answer is yes. First, a dirty (open) secret about NBA coaches. While celebrated and paid handsomely, they are not the most essential components in building a team. Unless we're talking about Gregg Popovich, a man whose success was greatly augmented by lucking into Tim Duncan--there aren't many clipboard carriers who are single-handedly worth trading a superstar for. Stan Van Gundy is an excellent coach, and he deserves a good job in the wake of this. But he is by no means someon...