NBA Playoff Picks and Predictions for Sunday
Our team of writers and handicappers hand out their NBA picks and predictions for Sunday, May 10.
Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets, 3:30PM ET
The Houston Rockets are down 2-1 in their Western Conference semifinal against the Los Angeles Lakers and they'll be down their best player for the rest of the series.
Yao Ming is out for the remainder of the playoffs with a broken left foot, the Rockets announced late Saturday.
Yao limped off the court late in the Lakers' 108-94 victory on Friday night and underwent treatment Saturday. The Rockets originally said he would be re-evaluated by team doctor Tom Clanton before Sunday's game.
But Clanton said later that further examination of Yao's injury revealed a hairline fracture in his foot that will sideline him for 8-12 weeks. Clanton said Yao will have to wear a protective boot, but that the injury will not require surgery.
The Rockets went 3-2 without Yao during the regular season and 19-8 without him in 2007-08. A total of 12 players missed 179 games for Houston this season, and the Rockets still managed to go 53-29.
NBA Free Pick: LA Lakers | Best Line: -3.5 Sports Interaction
Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic, 8:05PM ET
Celtics coach Doc Rivers was at home in the wee hours of Saturday morning after his team's playoff loss and started watching a movie, hoping to relax.
Only this film had no drama. No hero. No uplifting end or reason to stay tuned.
The tape of Game 3 against Orlando was simply a nightmare.
``It made me feel worse,'' Rivers said Saturday, a day after Boston's demoralizing 117-96 loss to the Magic. ``I was in an awful mood when I turned it on. What's past awful, I was in that afterward. They played great. They made a lot of great shots. And we played awful.
``Our defense was awful. I thought we were soft. I thought they were more aggressive. I thought we were the retaliators all game. Other than that, it was just a wonderful night of film watching.''
Now the Celtics want to make sure there's no sequel.
Following one of their worst defensive games of the season, the defending champions have plenty to fix if they want to avoid a 3-1 hole in their best-of-seven series against the Magic.
NBA Free Pick: Boston | Best Line: +5 Sports Interaction