The Spurs and the Clippers have staked out their places in the NBA Western Conference Finals while the Eastern Conference has yet to be decided. Takeaway sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin lays out what to expect for the rest of the playoffs.

The NBA playoffs got underway this weekend and the playoff picture has already been flipped on its head. Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, Takeaway sports contributor, recaps the action and makes a few predictions about what's coming in the rest of the playoffs.

This weekend is the NBA All-Star game, the unofficial half-way mark of the NBA season. The Miami Heat overwhelmed the Knicks last night as Jeremy Lin was shut down. LeBron James is having a historic season as the team looks to win the championship. But Oklahoma City and Kevin Durant are making waves in the Western Conference. Here to give us his thoughts on the season's first half, and to tell us what he's going to be looking for in the second half, is Takeaway sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin.

Over the past two weeks, the "Linsanity" of New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin has swept across New York, and much of America. Breaking records for scoring and assisting in his first five games, many sports fans are celebrating. Meanwhile, many are wondering when was the last time a black athlete ignited the same type of passion.

The NBA season is on full throttle as the New York Knicks played the champion Dallas Mavericks Sunday afternoon and Jeremy Lin was able to hold off the team and the Knicks cruised to yet another win. There were also exciting games around the league as Kevin Durant scored a stunning 51 points for Oklahoma City. The question for Linsanity remains: how long can it last?

A few weeks ago nobody wanted him. Now NBA scouts are scratching their heads, wondering how they so badly misjudged recent Harvard graduate Jeremy Lin. With every game, Lin continues to outscore his previous career high — and he doesn't show signs of slowing down. "J-Lin" has also garnered a great deal of attention for being the league's first Asian-American player, as well as his devout Christianity.

After weeks of delay, the shortened NBA season began on Sunday. Takeaway sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin spent roughly 12 and a half hours watching basketball on Christmas Day. He breaks down the day's games, and also looks back at the major sports moments of 2011.

Egyptians are going to the polls for the first time since an uprising led to the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak. With 50 registered political parties to choose from and in the wake of ongoing demonstrations against military rule, many are cautiously optimistic about the outcome.

The upcoming NBA season is in jeopardy after players rejected the league's latest offer for a new labor deal on Monday. "After two years of making a genuine and concerted effort to try to close a collective bargaining effort with the league and our teams, we've come to the conclusion today that that process has not worked for us," NBA Players Association president Derek Fisher said. The players have now begun the process of disbanding the union, and filing an anti-trust lawsuit against the NBA owners.

The NBA remains stuck in a lockout this morning as negotiations between players and owners have failed to produce a new collective bargaining agreement. Tomorrow is scheduled be the first day of the 66th season, but instead the stadiums will remain closed and fans will stay at home. It’s a big disappointment for fans, but for many people, their livelihoods are on the line too.

Commissioner David Stern cancelled the first two weeks of the new NBA season on Monday night, after the league and the players failed to reach a deal to end a four-month-long lockout. At dispute is how to divide billions of dollars of league revenues, as well as league rules over how players are paid. The NBA will lose between $700-$800 million for each month of play lost.

It's hurricane Friday here at the Takeaway, and someone who's never afraid to get out there in the rain is our correspondent Ibrahim Abdul-Matin. He joins us to talk some sports, including one seriously quirky stat from the baseball world when the New York Yankees continued to earn their out-sized salaries. Also, we will be looking at the NBA lockout. A recent piece by Malcolm Gladwell on Grantland.com says that the idea of basketball teams as a normal "business" is a fantasy, and so the idea of teams losing money and thus justifying the lockout is completely over the rainbow.

After hours of negotiating, NBA players and owners failed to come to an agreement over salary caps and team revenue. Those involved said the meetings were friendly, but players will remain on lockout until a settlement can be reached. While players have proposed a string of pay cuts to be enacted over the next few years, team owners say it is not enough to make the teams profitable. The Players Association and team owners will meet in two to three weeks to discuss this issue again.

In a pivotal Game 5 last night in Dallas, the Mavericks took home a 112-103 victory, earning their first N.B.A Championship win. Lebron James continued to show final quarter troubles—in the last four games, he has yet to score more than five points in the final quarter. Takeaway sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul Matin talks about this and other sports news from the week, including the outlook for the Boston Bruins.

Shaq told his fans first in a video posted to Twitter, "I'm about to retire... love you!"  He and his size 23 basketball shoes are done with the game. "He could dance, he could move, he could pass," says Takeaway Sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin. He explains why Shaq was such a dominant force and what he might do next.

The NBA Finals will kick off tonight with Game 1 between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat. As fans get ready for the first game, we hear from them about why their team has what it takes to win it all. Representing the Miami Heat is Michael Garrett, who started following his team when LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined. T.C. Fleming, on the other hand has been a fan for a long time. He moved to Dallas when he was two years old and has been a Mavs fan ever since.

The Chicago Bulls will face the Miami Heat in the eastern conference finals and both teams have something to prove, says Takeaway sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin. Tiger Woods withdrew from the Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida tournament after suffering a knee injury. It's becoming apparent that Woods is getting older.

Negotiators for the MLB players and the owners have come close to agreeing on a new playoff format, to potentially start in 2012. Two additional teams would join the eight teams that are already in the playoffs. The NBA also has long playoffs, advancing 16 teams to the playoffs, over 50 percent of the league. Does this hurt the NBA in terms of viewership and fans? Takeaway sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin discusses the lengthy NBA playoffs.

There's a lot of story lines happening in basketball this season. Which should we be paying attention to? The Miami Heat finally getting into its stride this season? A leader for The New York Knicks? Takeaway Sports Contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin talks about the biggest stories so far in the NBA.

One of the most hyped basketball teams of the new NBA season delivered an underwhelming debut last night. The 2010 Miami Heat, fronted by the all-star trifecta of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh, were trounced by the Boston Celtics, 88-80. Phil Latzman, host of WLRN's The Florida Roundup, says Miami fans have great expectations of the Heat's new lineup.