Monday Night NBA Playoff Madness: No Sixers? No Problem!

David Stern doesn't love us.

After basketball bacchanalia these past two days, we only get two games this evening. Even worse, the first games in both of these series were, for all intents and purposes, blowouts. But even if these matchups aren't as BIG or as FANTASTIC as the NBA would have you to believe, we'll still get a little randy here in the game thread...

Tonight, the Chicago Bulls are looking to steal one at the Barclays Center after getting worked by the Nets in Game 1. Brooklyn won the series opener 106-89 in a contest that wasn't as close as the score might indicate, and with Joakim Noah suffering from a nagging foot injury, expect Reggie Evans to do Reggie Evans things again tonight.

Check out Blog-A-Bull for the perspective from the CHI, while our friends over at Nets Daily will get you caught up on all things Crooklyn.

In the nightcap, the Los Angeles Clippers will try to take a 2-0 lead in their series against the Memphis Grizzlies. The tandem of Chris Paul and Cliff Paul combined for 23 points in the opener, and seven Clippers scored in double figures in LA's 112-91 victory. Soon-to-be Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol was exceptional in his star turn as a matador on Saturday: The Clippers corralled 14 offensive rebounds and finished with 46 points in the paint.

For the 411 from the 310, check out Clips Nation. Meanwhile, Grizzly Bear Blues will get you all Memphis'd up. (For the record, the Grizzlies' blog SHOULD be called "Beale Street Blues", but no one asked me...)

BTW, while you're watching the games, be sure to check out Dave's excellent post about the sad state of affairs that has been the Sixers' head coaching position in the post-Larry Brown Era. Maybe it's just me, but I can't WAIT for Mike Brown to come in and turn things around...