Beyond the first round, there are very few playoff series where one team is heavily favored.
“His athleticism and his health to me,” the Stanford coach added, “would give him a slight edge over Josh.”Here in this close-knit little town of 3,500 people, they are counting down the hours until the native son they call Sa Sa (pronounced: Say Say) is welcomed into the NFL on Thursday night — possibly by the nearby New York Football Giants.
At Samuel Owens Casual Family Dining across the street from where the Barkley family lives in a red brick row home on North Second Street, they have scheduled a draft party Thursday night.
“I got people calling up left and right for reservations,” owner William Loy said. “People are coming at 5 just to get a seat.”
James smiled when asked about the play.
“Of course I didn’t think it was a goaltend,” he said with a laugh. “I try to make plays like that all the time. He made a heck of a move, got me leaning right and he went left and I just tried to use my recovery speed and get back up there and make a play on the ball.”
Oladipo’s shooting woes continued. He’s only 12 of 50 from the field in the last three games. He scored 32 in the Pacers’ Game 1 win, but the Cavs have been double-teaming him ever since.
The third quarter has been a major problem for Cleveland all season. The Cavs had tried everything to try and shake things up after halftime, even doing layup lines at the break in Game 4 like a high school squad.
Turns out, all it took was some defensive intensity.
Down by seven at half, the Cavs swarmed the Pacers in the third quarter, forcing five turnovers in the first six minutes and holding Indiana to one field goal over the first 6:52 while opening with a 19-3 run.