The Utah Jazz’s Game 7 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday was the franchise’s first win of a playoff series in seven years. With that, the Jazz are hunting the most magnificent of prey in opening the best-of-seven quarterfinals series in Oracle Arena against the rested Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. The Warriors have been off for over a week after sweeping Portland last Monday. With Kevin Durant playing in only two of the four games, Stephen Curry once again

(1) Golden State Warriors vs. (8) Portland Trail Blazers -After setting the NBA record with three consecutive seasons of at least 67 wins, the Golden State Warriors open their round one series with the Portland Trail Blazers as the odds on favorite to win their second NBA Championship in the last three years. Golden State had won 14 in a row until a 105-99 lost to the Utah Jazz on Monday evening while the Trail Blazers finished the season 18-5 after a 24-35 start. Golden St

Push literally came to shove on Wednesday night as the final games of the regular season for the Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets have literally become play-in games for the eighth berth in the Eastern Conference. A struggling Hassaan Whiteside had become frustrated after he was scoreless and in foul trouble in the first half in going 0-for-3 with five rebounds. With 9:23 remaining in the third quarter and the Heat holding onto a 61-58 advantage, Whiteside’s wingspan won

Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford is a man driven by results in playing as hard as you can when you still have something to play for. The Hornets’ back-to-back this week illustrated the inconsistency of a team that is begging for players trying to step up beside Kemba Walker and maintain a consistency level every night. Tuesday night, against the length and athleticism of the Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte struggled. Once the Hornets saw their struggles, they were undone

There is generally no idea where the Charlotte Hornets brass stands as Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline approaches. The Hornets have lost 12 out of 13 and have fallen from sixth in the Eastern Conference to tenth; yet, they are only a game and a half out of that eighth spot in the East. The Hornets already traded Roy Hibbert and Steve Hawes to the Milwaukee Bucks for Miles Plumlee. It was a quizzical trade, to say the least, based on the fact that Milwaukee signed Plumlee fo

If the Charlotte Hornets indeed are left out of the playoffs, the period between a January 23 loss to the Washington Wizards and the All-Star break will most likely be the defining moment as the team lost 12 out of 13 games and fell from sixth in the Eastern Conference to 10th. That said, Charlotte is only one and a half games back of eighth place, where the Milwaukee Bucks currently stand. In that slide, the Charlotte defense has struggled as opponents’ have consistently sh