How do you contain a scoring threat like Stephen Curry? If you're the Denver Nuggets, maybe you impede him a little bit -- after all, Curry's not exactly the largest guy on the court. Good physical play is an effective part of many game plans, but Warriors coach Mark Jackson thinks the Nuggets were going a little too far, claiming that they targeted Curry's left ankle, which he sprained in Game 2. Whatever the Nuggets did, it worked -- they've given themselves new life in this closely fought series.

• DoylePhil: "Mark Jackson is simply protecting his best player. It's tough not to respect that. Steph Curry is your guy, go ahead and stand up for him."
• johnnytsunami212: "obviously he's just trying to get the calls next game and get his team pumped by playing the "everyone's against us" card. he doesn't believe any of this nonsense, he's just being a smart coach"
• erock1987: "Physical yes...dirty no...it's the playoffs. The nuggets finally showed they wanted to win a game. Players no a days are soo weak that a little shove or some "extra" contact is considered dirty. Nuggets made a statement. They weren't just going to roll over and let curry bury them again."
• duke_blue123: "Golden State has been the physically dominant team through the first 4 games. Denver finally retaliates with more physical play and they are accused of being dirty? If anything was dirty it was that cheap shot to the throat from Bogut to Faried."
• McDirty21: "Denver players are classless. All of them were playing dirty the whole night. I agree with Jackson."
• Cappiethedog: "I watched the game. I'm rooting for Golden State. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary."

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Which team will win the Nuggets-Warriors first-round playoff series? (Warriors lead 3-2)

•  
  54%
  Warriors in 6
•  
  22%
  Warriors in 7
•  
  24%
  Nuggets in 7

(Total votes: 80,820)

We wouldn't bet against Phil Jackson in anything -- he seems like one of those infuriating people who's good at whatever he tries -- but the Raptors seem to be casting against type in their reported pursuit of Jackson as their team president. Jackson's strengths as a coach are well-known, but as a president, he's something of an untested quantity. Pat Riley has found success with the Miami Heat in a similar role, but we'd imagine that Jackson would be far more amenable to simply coaching -- if there's a coaching job for him to take, that is.

• alhakeem34: "I hope Jackson comes to Toronto. We've been waiting for a respectable team in Canada for years."
• dave374000: "Jackson is a credible name, but has no real credibility as a president or GM. He is great at managing great players, but there are no great players in Toronto (and I'm a Raptors' fan). His greatest asset to the Raptors would be attracting real stars ... and Rudy Gay's contract pretty much makes that impossible."
• shibby8199: "Toronto is a great city and deserves to have a good team but when the best player is demar derozen then Phil isn't going to bother"
• CSTRealeven: "It's amazing how many people don't realize how major of a city Toronto is."
• TennyBrendy: "Here's a thought...why doesn't Phil just become the head of USA basketball? He would have the high profile job, plus the opportunity to work with all the games biggest stars. And he could cross off olympic medal from his list."
• robkaos: "I can see Phil taking this job if the right head coaching job doesn't appear. With Colangelo, Leiweke and Jackson you have three upper echelon type minds and Toronto is a nice city. Jerry West worked in Memphis of all places, so I don't think Toronto is beneath Phil."

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Will Phil Jackson coach again in the NBA?

•  
  52%
  Yes
•  
  48%
  No

(Total votes: 23,195)

It's the one stat that's remained constant throughout the history of the NBA: No team has ever won a playoff series after trailing 3-0. Then again, the same was true in Major League Baseball up until 2004, when the Red Sox became the first team to pull off the feat, winning four straight against the Yankees to advance to the World Series. So with Boston and New York facing off again, do the Celtics have what it takes to make NBA history? Or was Sunday's Game 4 overtime win by the Celtics just a blip on the radar?

• wiz kid21: "Celtics veterans showed how much heart and grit they have by pulling out this win, it makes you almost weep for the end of this era for the next generation of c's wont have nearly as much heart or talent as KG or The Truth who stepped up their games yet again under the bright lights. I think c's drag this to 6 or 7 now. "
• BABY IGGY..N8 DA GR8: "Winning the series is no longer likely, but all you can ask for is to keep celebration off your home court"
• 1Knicksnation: "Blow out in N.Y book it!!!"
• nickdiesels: "Celtic pride, that's all you can really say. It'll be a miracle if it gets back to Boston though."
• celticsmetsbearsflameshoosiersbuffaloes.227: "Terry's pull up OT 3 pointer = Roberts stolen base in 2004. Do you believe in miracles?"

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As a player, Michael Jordan was the consummate winner. Regarded as the greatest NBA player ever, Jordan could just about do it all on the court. As an executive, well ... let's just say things haven't gone quite as well. Jordan's ownership of the Bobcats hit another bump in the road Tuesday as the team fired head coach Mike Dunlap after just one season. It's the second time Jordan has hired a coach from the college ranks only to dump him after 82 games (he did it with Leonard Hamilton in Washington). So will the coaching change help turn around the dreadful Bobcats? Or is the real problem in Charlotte at the top?

Did the Bobcats make the right move in firing head coach Mike Dunlap?

•  
  59%
  Yes
•  
  41%
  No

(Total votes: 79,758)

Who do you blame most for the Bobcats' struggles (62-168 since making lone playoff appearance in 2010)?

•  
  10%
  Coaches
•  
  32%
  Players
•  
  58%
  Ownership

(Total votes: 14,276)

You could have been excused for thinking that the Nets would sweep the Bulls after Game 1 of their playoff series. The 106-89 final score was an embarrassment to Chicago, made worse by being one of those blowouts that isn't even as close as the final score indicated. A superior effort from Joakim Noah & Co., however, evened up the series at a game apiece and dramatically altered the narrative. We're not totally sold on the concept of momentum, but if it does exist, the Bulls may very well have it.

• battlehymn: "Thank you Noah for bringing back the pride to the team. Gm 1 was an embarrassment but your effort and heart erased the shame."
• Internet Tough Guys Fear Me: "The NATION has spoken. It's going to be Bulls in 5 or 6!"
• BK 1st Shift Manager: "Classic bounce back win by a team with too much pride and grit to just roll over. I like them to win the series in 6 but then lose to the Heat in 5."
• Blackjack2592: "If the Nets don't get more offense from someone in the frontcourt not named Lopez, the Bulls will win this series. This isn't about Thibideaux vs. Carlesimo or even D-Will. This is about a wounded and hungry team trying to show it can win a big series without its reluctant superstar PG."
• The Camby Man Can: "the Nets arent as good as they looked Saturday and they're not as bad as they looked Monday. This is going to be a close series."
• capclip9: "Alright, Nets. If Saturday night showed us what you've got, now you get to show us what you're MADE OF. Like Henry Hill said in Goodfellas: "Sometimes, everybody takes a beating." If you truly are as good as you showed on Saturday, then this series gets back to BK, preferably with a lead. Last night you took a beating. That'll happen in a playoff series. Rise up and hit 'em back. Show us what you're made of."

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Kobe Bryant's always been wired differently from ... just about everyone else, but putting him on Twitter has been kind of like a public scan of his brain. There are few other players, for instance, who play Beethoven on the piano while wearing winter gear after particularly frustrating losses. During the Lakers' Game 1 loss to the Spurs, Bryant took to Twitter to share his observations of the game, exhorting his teammates to play better and suggesting strategies. He might have been a bit over-enthusiastic, but really, it's not as if Kobe keeps his opinions to himself while he's playing, either.

Gotta milk pau in the post right now and d12. Will get good looks from it

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 21, 2013

Matador Defense on Parker. His penetration is hurting us

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 21, 2013

Nothing worse then watching your bothers struggle and u can't do crap about it #realtalk

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 21, 2013

I see my tweeting during the game is being talked about as much as the game itself. Not my intention , just bored as I guess #notagain

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 21, 2013

• Howard3445: "all this talk about Kobe's Twitter feed...... so now we know he was a player coach..... was there ever any doubt? so what was Dantoñis hire all about?"
• kervis32: "This loss only validates Kobe's importance..not that it needed validation! No way they lose this game with Kobe in the game. "
• SantamonicaLApurpleandgoldl: "If Kobe has something to say, wait to the game is over to critique their play. He's making it about him, which isnt cool."
• The Legendary West Ryan and Lombardi: "I doubt his team mates are bothered by it, in fact since they don't see it probably could care less. Most importantly I'm sure they want him on the bench with them cheering them on."
• terbenaw: "He didn't even critique them. He basically said that his team could steal this game from the Spurs. That's not a critique. That's showing faith in your team, giving them support."
• burnzz03: "kobe can be a top coach in the league because of his knowledge ya hes still a player.. hes just tweeting what he would be actually saying to pau, howard, meeks and everybody else if he was in the game in the huddle."

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What do you make of Mike D'Antoni calling Kobe Bryant "a fan" in regards to his tweets about the Lakers in Game 1?

•  
  30%
  Disrespectful
•  
  70%
  Just a poor choice of words

(Total votes: 16,948)

Should Kobe Bryant keep tweeting during Lakers playoff games?

•  
  56%
  Yes
•  
  44%
  No

(Total votes: 17,140)

The Lakers' magic number is one: Either one win by Los Angeles or one loss by the Utah Jazz will lock up a playoff spot for them. That'd be great for them if there were, say, five games remaining, but both teams have only one game left. The Jazz are doing their part to make this an exciting race, declining to lose Monday night against the Timberwolves. They have one advantage in this whole mess -- they own a playoff tiebreaker against the Lakers -- but they'll face a serious challenge in their final game, taking on the Grizzlies on the road.

• LakersRock2012: "Lakers to lose at home against lousy Rockets team? and for the playoffs? not in your wildest dream Utah fans...go play your music somewhere else cause the Lakers aren't losing that game.."
• Calvin9299: "Last couple of weeks I've been saying the 8 is no LA lock. In recent days however, I've leaned in that direction, but the expectations for LA are higher than they are for Utah. In a sense, the Jazz are playing the final game tiebreaker in check, with house money I guess. One slip up either way..."
• Kerr3773: "Anyone else have this feeling of foreboding that the Lakers are going to win against Houston? That it's not going to matter if the Jazz somehow win on the road in Memphis because the Lakers are going to run the table? It's their own dumb fault too because they lost sooo many games that they should have won, always playing to the level of their competition, and forgetting how to play basketball unless they were in the 84111."
• Vincent Klorthau: "I am kind of hoping that the Jazz do not get in. I do not want to watch another Jazz sweep in the first round. I would rather watch the Lakers get swept by OKC in the first round then the Jazz can get a lottery pick.
• basher316: "houston is no pushover, but memphis will be a problem for Utah"
• GordonTrue: "Memphis is locked in at #5. Grizzlies will rest starters, Jazz will win. All comes down to the Lakers-Rockets."

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Which team would be a tougher matchup for the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs?

•  
  60%
  Lakers
•  
  40%
  Jazz

(Total votes: 73,086)

Nerlens Noel's season may have ended when he tore his ACL, but that's not stopping him from entering the NBA draft as a potential No. 1 pick. Noel's a force on the court when healthy, but an ACL injury can have devastating consequences for a player's career, as Kobe Bryant is now finding out. Noel could take another year at Kentucky to make sure his game is still intact, but the allure of making the jump to the NBA so early must be strong.

• lupay112: "I remember the good ol' days when the draft was actually based off talent instead of potential."
• big2dunny: "The fact that a big man who struggled to score in his 1 college season and blew out his knee is still going to be the number 1 pick shows you how terrible this years draft class is"
• Jonah Lowery: "Can't blame the kid, tore his ACL and is still projected to the #1 pick. I'd grab that cash too and it's not like his draft potential is going to be higher You never know how that's going to turn out if you wait another season."
• Kentucky_Basketball_8_Titles: "I wish Nerlens coulda been a part of a good UK team, he deserved it. His work ethic will pay off in the NBA. You'll always be a wildcat big guy, god speed on your recovery."
• Dr. Extreme Frontrunner: "Nerlens Noel might not be a superstar like D-12 or any of that sort, but he'll still be a solid player who might be 3-5x All-Star and will make a lot of All-Defensive teams... might even win a DPOY."
• tdc200: "Smart decision, will have a great NBA career for sure."

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What is Nerlens Noel's future in the NBA?

•  
  11%
  All-Star
•  
  45%
  Starter
•  
  25%
  Backup
•  
  19%
  Bust

(Total votes: 156,661)