<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Klay-Thompson-James-Wiseman-Warriors.jpg"></figure><h1>Klay Thompson’s impending return gets hyped by James Wiseman</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T23:04:04-07:00">June 17th, 11:04pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T23:04:04-07:00">June 17th, 11:04pm</time><address><a>Paolo Mariano</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Raise your hand if you’re raring to see Klay Thompson play again!</p><p>Well, it seems Golden State Warriors rookie James Wiseman is eagerly raising his hand like a kid excited for Show &amp; Tell in school.</p><p>Wiseman, like the rest of the NBA, is thrilled for the impending return of Thompson, who has sat out two straight seasons because of serious injuries. The 20-year-old Wiseman has seen Thompson’s road to recovery and he has been nothing but impressed (via <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/james-wiseman-marvels-monster-klay-thompsons-competitiveness?fbclid=IwAR0I78tK_LL5Rl3SKVfcf80kqkN6Ic9r-4AeexxmeCHxmpkOwfbSFxd8fRs">NBC Sports Bay Area</a>).</p><blockquote>“Man, Klay is a competitor. The dude’s mentality is on a whole nother level. Klay is a great guy off the court, but he is also just like a monster on the court. Like his mentality is just different. So, Klay is just a great player, he is going to come back stronger, and I just can’t wait to play with Klay. It’s going to be fun.”</blockquote><p>The return of the sweet-shooting Thompson, a career <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/klay-thompson/a0dc0928/stats">19.5 points per game scorer</a>, could make things easier for Wiseman, who had a rocky rookie season. Thompson will surely attract defenders from the perimeter, giving Wiseman more room to operate inside. The second overall pick in last year’s NBA Draft was largely inconsistent and missed several games due to injuries and COVID-19 protocols. He did not earn a nod to the All-NBA Rookie Teams.</p><p>Warriors fans are dying to have Thompson back, especially after missing the NBA Playoffs for the second straight year. But judging James Wiseman’s comments, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if Klay Thompson unleashes the monster in him. A monster who can stroke it.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Klay Thompson’s impending return gets hyped by James Wiseman

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/PJ-Tucker-Kevin-Durant-Bucks-Nets.jpg"></figure><h1>PJ Tucker’s impassioned comments on guarding Kevin Durant will give you goosebumps</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T22:16:58-07:00">June 17th, 10:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T22:16:58-07:00">June 17th, 10:16pm</time><address><a>Paolo Mariano</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Milwaukee Bucks are still alive and PJ Tucker is all for it.</p><p>The Bucks staved off elimination after soundly beating the Brooklyn Nets in Game 6, 104-89 to force a do-or-die match. Tucker only put up three points and five rebounds, but he once again covered Kevin Durant for most of the game. His passion-fueled comments after their win, however, were his biggest contributions (via <a href="https://twitter.com/eric_nehm">The Athletic’s Eric Nehm</a>).</p><blockquote>“It’s the playoffs, man. I don’t know what people think. We dream about this our whole lives. You dream about being in the playoffs and guarding the best player in the world. Like, I’ll die out there. I’m living my dream. I’m not backing down from nothing. I’m fighting for every inch. I don’t understand all this little stuff. Me and Kevin fight every year. I’ve guarded him every year in the playoffs.”</blockquote><p>The 36-year-old burly forward, who has had <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/p.j.-tucker/ae840919/bio">quite the journey</a> before finding his niche in the NBA is indeed no stranger to Durant. Even during their high school days, Tucker already faced the former MVP.</p><blockquote>“Golden State. Oklahoma City. Doesn’t matter. Regular season. Playoffs. I love guarding him. I enjoy it. He’s the best scorer I’ve ever seen in my life. I told Rick Barnes on his visit when he was a junior in high school, he’s going to be the best player I’ve ever seen in my life.”</blockquote><p>Tucker also dismissed the notion that he shouldn’t be praising Durant. He pointed out that doing so is the greatest challenge for him as a defender.</p><p>Get you a guy like PJ Tucker.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

PJ Tucker’s impassioned comments on guarding Kevin Durant will give you goosebumps

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/John-Stockton-reveals-anti-vax-feelings-name-drops-Steph-Curry-in-new-documentary.jpg"><figcaption>June 17, 2021</figcaption></figure><h1>Stephen Curry name dropped by John Stockton in new anti-vax documentary</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T22:10:00-07:00">June 17th, 10:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T22:52:34-07:00">June 17th, 10:52pm</time><address><a>Dijo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Utah Jazz icon John Stockton has come out in a new anti-vaccine documentary to speak his truth about COVID-19 and all vaccine rollout that has been going on worldwide for the past few months. He even made sure to name-drop the Golden State Warriors three-time champion in Stephen Curry in the process of defending his anti-vax stance.</p><p>The 59-year-old <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/john-stockton/2507/bio">Hall of Famer</a> shared his thoughts and it’s not what most of you had expected from the iconic point guard.</p><blockquote>“This isn’t a virus cheating us of this opportunity, it’s the guys making decisions saying ‘No, no, we’re too scared and we’re gonna shut everything down. Sit in your house and be careful,'” Stockton said (h/t to <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1405735087581241352">Tomer Azarly</a>). “My kids and grandkids hearing these things and accepting them as truth when I know by my significant amount of research that it isn’t is very frustrating.”</blockquote><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">John Stockton in an extremely anti-vax documentary trailer?</p><p>Clippers in 6.<br> <a href="https://t.co/ieOUPs2lcT" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/ieOUPs2lcT</a></p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1405734831313485826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 18, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Stockton went on to refer to how unique of a talent Curry is and how “<a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1405735087581241352">it would be a crime”</a> if the world potentially didn’t see the “next Steph” just because of all these COVID-19 restrictions.</p><blockquote>“So I wonder who we are missing out on right now” he added.</blockquote><p>I’m not even sure how to dissect this. For the record, I have not yet watched the entire documentary that John Stockton is on nor do I have any plans of doing a binge. The extent of my knowledge of this particular topic is just the statements grabbed above.</p><p>Having said that, it’s pretty clear that the former Jazz court general is a bit out of tune when it comes to the reality of this COVID-stricken world. It’s okay to not believe in vaccines, that’s totally normal. But for you to advocate against it is a different thing.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Stephen Curry name dropped by John Stockton in new anti-vax documentary

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Giannis-Antetokounmpo-Bucks-Nets-Kevin-Durant-Al-Harrington.jpg"></figure><h1>Giannis Antetokounmpo has ‘very limited’ talent, claims controversial former NBA forward</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T21:50:49-07:00">June 17th, 9:50pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T21:50:49-07:00">June 17th, 9:50pm</time><address><a>Paolo Mariano</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Giannis Antetokounmpo saved the Milwaukee Bucks from elimination in Game 6 against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday. He was absolutely sensational throughout their do-or-die mission.</p><p>The Greek Freak displayed his strength and athleticism on both ends, pummeling the Nets’ defense, especially in the painted area.</p><p>Former NBA player Al Harrington, however, said Giannis has “very limited” skills. As a guest on The Bakari Sellers Podcast, the controversial journeyman said opposing teams can easily defend the two-time MVP (via <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/06/17/ex-nbaer-giannis-antetokounmpo-limited-in-what-he-can-do/">New York Post</a>).</p><blockquote>“Giannis, as great as he is, he’s very limited. Why he’s so good is because all season he plays somebody once every couple of months, so you don’t really get a chance to game plan for him, so all that dribbling full court and dunking works. Now, it’s a series and his opponent can pay attention to all your weaknesses, like, ‘We know you can’t go left, we know you can’t shoot the 3,’ you’re going to get exposed every time in a series.”</blockquote><p>Harrington, who played for seven teams in 17 seasons in the NBA made his fiery take prior to Game 6, so he might be singing a different tune now. After all, it’s hard to ignore Giannis’ 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting and 17 rebounds. He also heeded the challenge of defending Nets superstar Kevin Durant.</p><p>But obviously, what matters most for Giannis Antetokounmpo is they extended the series to a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/milwaukee-bucks/schedule">winner-take-all Game 7</a>. Like Al Harrington, many have criticized him for his lack of shooting and other versatile skills, but as he has proven throughout his career, his abilities are enough to power the Bucks. Now, limit that!</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Giannis Antetokounmpo has ‘very limited’ talent, claims controversial former NBA forward

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/bucks-news-kevin-durants-kyrptonite-is-in-milwaukee-per-giannis-antetokounmpo.jpg"></figure><h1>Nets star Kevin Durant’s blunt take on failing to repeat legendary 49-point effort in Game 6 vs. Bucks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T21:21:03-07:00">June 17th, 9:21pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T22:49:03-07:00">June 17th, 10:49pm</time><address><a href="https://medium.com/@rpsalao">R.P. Salao</a>Check out my best stuff on Medium - medium.com/@rpsalao.I also post quality NBA YouTube content - tinyurl.com/SalaoYouTube.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Coming off one of the most spectacular NBA playoff performances in recent memory, Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant could’t make lightning strike twice in two nights.</p><p>The 11-time All-Star <a href="https://www.nba.com/watch/event/2021061701-postgame-press-conference">spoke out</a> about his team falling short in Game 6, 104-89 at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks. The Nets forward was asked about failing to duplicate his Game 5 effort in their potential closeout game against the Bucks.</p><blockquote>“I’m not trying to be a hero out there. I know I can’t win a basketball game by myself,” the Nets star admitted. “I just tried to play the right way, take the shots that were there, and a few of them I felt like I rushed just to try to get us back into the flow and switch the momentum a bit.”“I try not to duplicate huge nights like that. I just try to let the game flow and tonight wasn’t our night.”</blockquote><p>While Durant failed to put up another 49-point barrage for the Nets, he was <a href="https://tv5.espn.com/nba/recap?gameId=401332962">hardly a non-factor.</a> KD finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds. But one difference is that it took him 30 shots to get there.</p><p>The Nets star’s efficiency was the biggest difference from Games 5 and 6, as he needed just 23 shots to reach his near-50 total. One huge factor was his 13-for-16 free throw effort, an aspect that was completely missing in Game 6. Durant made just two of his eight three-point attempts, and shockingly went 0-for-2 from the free throw line, a figure that’s surprising both for the inaccuracy and the lack of volume.</p><p>While Kevin Durant explicitly said that he can’t win a game all by himself, he very well might have to do so in Game 7 if his teammates don’t show up. James Harden has put up a valiant effort in two games since returning from his hamstring injury, but he’s been sapped of his all-world scoring prowess. Joe Harris, Jeff Green, Bruce Brown, and Blake Griffin are by no means sure candidates to step up with the Nets’ season on the line either, as the supporting cast has ebbed and flowed throughout these playoffs. Game 7 is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/brooklyn-nets/schedule">on Saturday.</a></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nets star Kevin Durant’s blunt take on failing to repeat legendary 49-point effort in Game 6 vs. Bucks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/4-reasons-rick-carlisle-quit-on-luka-doncic-mark-cubans-mavs.jpg"></figure><h1>4 reasons Rick Carlisle quit on Luka Doncic, Mark Cuban’s Mavs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T21:19:22-07:00">June 17th, 9:19pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T21:20:37-07:00">June 17th, 9:20pm</time><address><a>Nicole Ganglani</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Dallas Mavericks and head coach Rick Carlisle have parted ways after 13 years together, meaning Luka Doncic needs a new leader with the Mavs under owner Mark Cuban. This was a shocker considering that Carlisle was never on the hot seat this season. According to ESPN senior reporter Adrian Wojnarowski, it was a mutual decision <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/3-best-teams-that-need-to-call-rick-carlisle-asap/">between both parties</a> to divorce. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Rick Carlisle — who led Dallas to the 2011 NBA championship — informed Mavericks owner Mark Cuban today that he won't be returning as coach next season, Carlisle told ESPN. Carlisle had two years left on his contract. He spent 13 seasons as Mavericks coach.</p><p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1405618099840339968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 17, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Rick Carlisle statement to ESPN: <a href="https://t.co/zdKA8sWa4Y" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/zdKA8sWa4Y</a></p><p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1405618479944847364?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 17, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Since the announcement of Carlisle’s departure was published, there have been a ton of theories as to why the head coach let go of his job. Here’s what some of those could be: </p><h2><b>Carlisle might have wanted a new culture</b></h2><p>It’s been 10 years since Carlisle delivered a championship for the Mavs. Granted, the league is competitive and major markets have dominated the past couple of years. But this could’ve been a reason for his departure. Since 2011, the Mavs haven’t won a playoff series as it’s been one first round exit after another. This could have been a factor as to why Carlisle decided to leave Dallas. </p><h2><b>Carlisle might have not wanted to coach Luka with the Mavs</b></h2><p>In the latest episode of <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2mZHt3zBxyIuc0PYLdDDkr">The Lowe Post</a>, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon mentioned that Carlisle wasn’t the best coach at managing egos and personalities in the locker room for the Mavs. It’s a big reason as to why there’s a reported rift between Carlisle and rising superstar Luka Doncic. </p><p>Carlisle knows that this is Doncic’s team heck or even league one day. In a league that has embraced player empowerment, the Mavs have to please Doncic at all cost. Sure, he can sign the rookie extension but Doncic will always have a say and the power to leave. </p><h2><b>Carlisle might get a better offer somewhere else</b></h2><p>Just like ordinary employees in general, when there’s a better job opportunity they take it. Same goes with coaches in the NBA. Several teams with coachable superstars are scouting for a coach. As soon as Carlisle resigned, he was pretty much put on top of the list for a coach candidate. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Rick Carlisle's 836 career wins are 3rd-most among active coaches (15th all-time).</p><p>Most Wins – Active Head Coaches<br>Gregg Popovich 1,310<br>Doc Rivers          992<br>Rick Carlisle        836 <a href="https://t.co/HpDBsPb9SP" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/HpDBsPb9SP</a></p><p>— ESPN Stats &amp; Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/1405620745926021120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 17, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>The Mavs know the Boston Celtics are looking for Brad Stevens’ replacement after reassigning him as the new president of basketball operations. There are the Portland Trail Blazers, who should be doing everything they can right now to keep All-Star guard Damian Lillard happy. There are the New Orleans Pelicans who know that young rising star Zion Williamson could also leave. A lot of opportunities are there for Carlisle and maybe this was a factor as to why he called it quits. </p><p>The Milwaukee Bucks won Game 6 against the Nets on Thursday night, but if they lose Game 7 to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, they will likely fire Mike Budenholzer. Carlisle could go from the Mavs to the Bucks, and from Luka to Giannis Antetokounmpo, where he could compete for a championship.</p><h2><b>Carlisle didn’t want to fall deeper into the Mavs’ soap opera</b></h2><p>This week has been interesting for the Mavs. Just a few days before Carlisle’s departure was announced, The Athletic’s <a href="https://twitter.com/tim_cato/status/1404459340875059202">Tim Cato</a> released a story about the possible frustrations in Dallas. </p><p>One in particular is the rift between Bob Voulgaris, a director of quantitative research and development manager for the Mavs, and Doncic. </p><p>With what has gone down in the past week, this could even be more of a mess for the Mavs. </p><p>Mavs owner Mark Cuban has a lot on his plate and must do everything he can to keep his team in order. There’s a good chance that Carlisle didn’t want to involve himself any deeper in this mess, thus deciding to leave the team and seek greener pastures. </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

4 reasons Rick Carlisle quit on Luka Doncic, Mark Cuban’s Mavs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Khris-Middleton-had-historic-Game-6-to-extend-series-vs-Nets.jpg"><figcaption>June 17, 2021</figcaption></figure><h1>Bucks’ Khris Middleton has historic Game 6 to extend series vs Nets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T21:09:14-07:00">June 17th, 9:09pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T21:09:14-07:00">June 17th, 9:09pm</time><address><a>Dijo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Milwaukee Bucks superstar Khris Middleton made history on Thursday as he helped lead his team to an all-important Game 6 blowout win against the Brooklyn Nets. The swingman did it all for the Bucks in a do-or-die situation to make sure that the franchise stayed in the series as they now head to Brooklyn for a Game 7 after their 104-89 win.</p><p>The two-time All-Star came up huge on Thursday with a playoff career-high of 38 points and made sure to fill up the stat sheet. He added 10 rebounds, five assists, five steals while knocking down 11-16 from the field (5-8 from downtown). According to <a href="https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1405722622009114633">StatMuse</a>, Middleton is the first player in NBA history to get a 30/10/5/5 line with five or more threes in a playoff game.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Khris Middleton historic game tonight.</p><p>38 PTS (playoff career-high)<br>10 REB<br>5 AST<br>5 STL<br>5 3PT<br>11-16 FG</p><p>He is the first player in NBA history with 30/10/5/5s and 5+ threes in a playoff game. <a href="https://t.co/chjrogHCee" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/chjrogHCee</a></p><p>— StatMuse (@statmuse) <a href="https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1405722622009114633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 18, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Now that’s impressive.</p><p>With their backs against the wall, the Bucks made sure to take full advantage of their home floor and took control of the game from the opening tip. Milwaukee mounted an 11-point lead at the half and kept their foot on the gas and fought back whenever the Nets tried to claw their way back into the game.</p><p>This wouldn’t have all been possible if Middleton wasn’t shooting like he was. The 29-year-old was steady the entire game and, together with Giannis Antetokounmpo, proved to be the mightier duo on the court. Middleton and Antetokounmpo combined for the Bucks’ 68 points while Kevin Durant and James Harden only had a combined 48.</p><p>Does Khris Middleton have <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/khris-middleton/af6e0952/gamelog">more gas</a> in the tank for another epic performance for Saturday’s Game 7 affair?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bucks’ Khris Middleton has historic Game 6 to extend series vs Nets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/world-of-warcraft-shadowlands-chains-of-domination-arrives-june-29.jpg"><figcaption>Blizzard</figcaption></figure><h1>World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Chains of Domination arrives June 29</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T21:00:02-07:00">June 17th, 9:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T21:00:02-07:00">June 17th, 9:00pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NeutralGGEsports" rel="facebook">Franz Christian Irorita</a>A writer and content creator, focusing on video games.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Gaming</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><i>World of Warcraft: Shadowlands</i>‘s first major update: <i>Chains of Domination </i>finally arrives this <b>June 29</b>.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>First revealed during <a href="https://blizzcon.com/en-us/">Blizzconline 2021</a>, the major 9.1 update for <i>World of Warcraft: Shadowlands </i>finally has a reveal date: <b>June 29, 2021</b>. It includes a new raid, the Sanctum of Domination, where players will have to battle against a corrupted Sylvanas Windrunner. If you’ve been paying attention, you’d know that she’s now working with the Jailer. She has corrupted Anduin, which adds to the long list of corrupted priests and paladins in the series.</p><p>Sanctum of Domination’s normal and heroic difficulties go online a week after on <b>July 5</b>. The first wing of the Raid Finder difficulty will come out on <b>July 13</b>.</p><p>You can also explore a new zone in <i>Shadowlands: Chains of Domination</i> – the City of Secrets, Korthia. There will also be a mega-dungeon: Tazavesh, the Veiled Market. Finally, players will be able to continue their covenant campaigns. Each covenant receives new story chapters, with 40 new renown ranks to earn.</p><p><i>World of Warcraft: Shadowlands </i>is the eighth expansion of <i>World of Warcraft</i>, following <i>Battle for Azeroth</i>. First released in November last year, <i>Chains of Domination </i>will be the first major update for the expansion. <i>Shadowlands </i>is the realm of the dead in <i>Warcraft </i>lore. Sylvanas Windrunner murdered High Overlord Saurfang and destroyed the Lich King’s Helm of Domination, causing a rupture in the worlds of the living and the dead. It’s later revealed that Sylvanas made a deal with The Jailer, which explains why she has been committing crimes in Azeroth, which were done at the behest of The Jailer.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Chains of Domination arrives June 29

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/X-best-coaches-to-replace-Rick-Carlisle-for-Luka-Doncic-led-Mavs.jpg"></figure><h1>3 best coaches to replace Rick Carlisle for Luka Doncic-led Mavs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T20:46:20-07:00">June 17th, 8:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T23:01:05-07:00">June 17th, 11:01pm</time><address><a>Nick Andre</a>Basketball Enthusiast</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Rick Carlisle era in Dallas <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/3-best-teams-that-need-to-call-rick-carlisle-asap/">has come to an end.</a> It was reported <a href="https://twitter.com/tim_cato/status/1404459340875059202">Thursday afternoon</a> that the veteran coach was divorcing the Mavericks organization after 13 seasons. During his tenure, he consistently brought the Mavs to the playoffs but didn’t usually have rosters good enough to make deep runs, especially in the late 2010s and early 2020s with Luka Doncic doing everything he could to advance in the postseason. After losing in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers this postseason, Carlisle coached his last game with the team in a crucial Game 7.</p><p>Carlisle was selected as coach of the Mavs in 2008, taking over Avery Johnson. After many disappointing playoff exits, Mark Cuban wanted to figure a way to keep Dallas competitive amid the prime of Dirk Nowitzki. Carlisle led the Mavericks to an NBA championship in 2011 while reaching the playoffs in nine of 13 seasons.</p><p>Since the Mavericks’ championship, Carlisle and his team have not advanced past the first round. The franchise came close both in 2014 and 2021 but never finished the job of clinching the series. As the Mavs have Luka Doncic as the franchise cornerstone, Cuban wants to find a new way of surrounding him with a new coach and staff to elevate the team.</p><p>Many coaches are waiting for an opportunity to be on the sidelines once again. There could be a special coach that can transition the Mavs into a dangerous threat in the Western Conference. Whether it’s a veteran coach or a rookie, Dallas should choose wisely with the choices that will be in front of them.</p><h2><b>Mavs coaching targets: </b></h2><h2><b>Mike D’Antoni</b></h2><p>Mike D’Antoni does not have a championship under his belt. But that doesn’t take away his ability to run a great offensive team. Every team that D’Antoni has coached for, they have elevated as a team and often became a playoff threat. This may not be the first request for the Mavs, considering that D’Antoni is not defense-oriented, but his offensive mind could help the team produce efficiently.</p><p>D’Antoni and Doncic could grow a great player-coach relationship if selected as the next coach. As Doncic shows the ability to run the fast break, there may be some scenes where the Mavs run “7 seconds or less,” the same scenario which emerged when D’Antoni coached the Phoenix Suns and Steve Nash in the mid-2000s. Doncic’s usage rate will remain at number one if coached by D’Antoni. The star forward will continue to run the offense with the ball primarily in his hands.</p><h2><b>Mark Jackson</b></h2><p>Why wouldn’t Mark Cuban go with a coach who has an impact on wins and losses? A coach who can bring the most out of his players? It has been seven seasons since Mark Jackson parted ways with the Golden State Warriors. The three-year coach is in search of another opportunity to build a team into a contender. It could be the Mavs.</p><p>Jackson was a part of the Warriors organization in the beginning stages of development which preceded the launch of their dynasty. As the team missed the playoffs in his first season, the team followed it up with two playoff appearances, including advancing past the first round in 2013. Jackson is a great candidate at bringing the team together and learning how to win, which is exactly what the Mavs need right now.</p><h2><b>Becky Hammon</b></h2><p>Will Mark Cuban be the first owner to bring in a women’s NBA coach? The Mavs could make history. Being on the sidelines with Gregg Popovich, Becky Hammon has the capabilities of what it takes to win at a high level. Her knowledge of the game is greatly respected across the NBA and has been a pioneer for women working as coaches.</p><p>Hammon has built her knowledge of basketball by being one of the greatest point guards in WNBA history. She was a leader on the floor and understood how to get the best out of her teammates. Hammon has carried over the same mentality to the sidelines. For a Mavs team trying to start over, maybe Luka Doncic will find respect in a female coach who can help him understand the game from other perspectives.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

3 best coaches to replace Rick Carlisle for Luka Doncic-led Mavs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Giannis-Antetokounmpo_s-major-adjustment-vs-Nets-that-helped-secure-Game-7.jpg"><figcaption>June 17, 2021</figcaption></figure><h1>Giannis Antetokounmpo’s major adjustment vs Nets that helped secure Game 7</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T20:43:00-07:00">June 17th, 8:43pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T20:43:00-07:00">June 17th, 8:43pm</time><address><a>Dijo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo knew coming into Game 6 that he had to step up and make the necessary adjustments to help his team extend the series against the Brooklyn Nets. And, the two-time MVP absolutely showed up and balled out on Thursday to help the Bucks secure a Game 7 ticket in Brooklyn. He did make a huge adjustment though that proved to be pivotal for the Bucks’ chances.</p><p>Antetokounmpo finished with 30 points and 17 rebounds and spent a lot of time in the paint. So much so that the 26-year-old didn’t even attempt a single three-pointer in 41 minutes of action. According to <a href="https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1405723287380905985">StatMuse</a>, that’s the first playoff game in three years that Giannis didn’t even try to shoot from long range.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Giannis took 0 threes tonight. He finished with:</p><p>30 PTS<br>17 REB<br>12-20 FG</p><p>It’s his first playoff game without attempting a three in 3 years. <a href="https://t.co/BR97vOAcp5" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/BR97vOAcp5</a></p><p>— StatMuse (@statmuse) <a href="https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1405723287380905985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 18, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Good things happen when Giannis stays inside the paint, I guess? Best to leave the shooting to guys like Khris Middleton who shot the lights out on Thursday.</p><p>Antetokounmpo was a headache in the paint for Brooklyn all game long. With Giannis going downhill with a full head of steam, it’s hard to imagine anyone in the entire league who can stop him one-on-one. He is a two-time MVP for a reason and he definitely silenced all the haters in a terrific Game 6 performance against the Nets.</p><p>Coming into one of the biggest games in his career, Giannis should anticipate that the Nets will definitely make an adjustment for their do-or-die game on Sunday. Antetokounmpo just has to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/giannis-antetokounmpo/ac1b0975/splits">constantly adapt</a> and read what the defense is giving him to give the Bucks a shot at an ECF stint.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s major adjustment vs Nets that helped secure Game 7

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/bucks-news-giannis-antetokounmpo-eats-nets-frontcourt-alive-with-monster-slam.jpg"><figcaption>June 17, 2021</figcaption></figure><h1>VIDEO: Giannis Antetokounmpo eats Nets frontcourt alive with monster slam to force Game 7</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T20:34:23-07:00">June 17th, 8:34pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T20:34:23-07:00">June 17th, 8:34pm</time><address><a>Dijo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/giannis-antetokounmpo/ac1b0975">Giannis Antetokounmpo</a> wasn’t playing with his food in Game 6 as the two-time MVP served a monster throwdown in front of the entire <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/brooklyn-nets">Brooklyn Nets</a> frontcourt. Antetokounmpo was a man on a mission on Thursday as his Bucks were playing for their season in the hopes of forcing a Game 7 against <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/kevin-durant/b0360985">Kevin Durant</a> and the visiting Brooklyn squad.</p><p>And, after 48 minutes, that’s exactly what they did. Giannis wasn’t letting this one slip away and, with the help of Khris Middleton’s red-hot evening, willed his team to an impressive 104-89 blowout.</p><p>This <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1405720650077990919">thunderous slam</a> was definitely a back-breaker for the Nets:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Giannis with EMPHASIS 🔨</p><p>Bucks pulling away in Game 6<a href="https://t.co/V873LcrOBz" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/V873LcrOBz</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1405720650077990919?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 18, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>How’s that for a statement? Giannis had his brother Thanasis and the rest of the Bucks bench hyped as they went on to dominate the Nets in Game 6. Finally, after a few quiet games, Giannis is flexing his muscles and is giving Durant, James Harden, and the rest of the Brooklyn roster a legitimate reason to fear the deer.</p><p>There has been a lot of talk around Antetokounmpo and how he’s failed to show up in this <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/giannis-antetokounmpo/ac1b0975/splits">series</a>. In a must-win situation in Game 6 though, the two-time MVP stepped up big and made sure that the franchise lives for another day. He finished with 30 points and 17 rebounds while knocking down six of his 10 free throw attempts. Middleton, on the other hand, dropped a game-high of 38 points including hitting 5-8 from deep.</p><p>The former DPOY had a field day in the paint, highlighted by the play above. It’s just tough to put a body on a man like Giannis. Hopefully, for the Bucks, the same Giannis shows up in Game 7 as they try to upset the Nets and head to the ECF.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

VIDEO: Giannis Antetokounmpo eats Nets frontcourt alive with monster slam to force Game 7

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cod-warzone-now-has-120fps-on-ps5-months-after-xbox-series-x.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>Warzone now has 120FPS on PS5, months after Xbox Series X</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T20:17:46-07:00">June 17th, 8:17pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T20:19:41-07:00">June 17th, 8:19pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NeutralGGEsports" rel="facebook">Franz Christian Irorita</a>A writer and content creator, focusing on video games.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Gaming</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><i>Call of Duty Warzone </i>has had support for 120FPS on the Xbox One version of the game when played on the Xbox Series X. Meanwhile, Activision claimed that it’s impossible to do so on the PS4 version, being played on the PS5, to do the same. This is because of some back-end issues on how PS5 and PS4 backward compatibility work. Well, that seems to have changed, <a href="https://www.ravensoftware.com/community/2021/06/call-of-duty-bocw-warzone-season-four-patch-notes">because a surprise update</a> on <i>Warzone </i>now unlocked 120 FPS all of a sudden.</p><p>The new update brought the expected new content: 5 new maps, five new weapons, new Points of Interests in Verdansk, and new quests in Outbreak. However, no one was expecting the 120 FPS unlock to drop on this update. There was no indication that Raven Software will bring that in now, so it’s a nice surprise. Previously they claimed that 120 FPS won’t be arriving until the PS5 version of <i>Warzone </i>releases. But now, owners of <i>Warzone </i>for the PS4 can now play it on the PS5 at 120FPS.</p><h2><b>How to turn on <i>Warzone </i>120FPS on the PS5</b></h2><p>Follow these steps to unlock <i>Warzone </i>120FPS on the PS5:</p><ol><li>Make sure that you’re connecting your PS5 to your display device using an HDMI 2.1 cable.</li><li>Go to your PS5 system settings screen, and select the “Screen and Video.”</li><li>Select “Video Output.”</li><li>Set “Enable 120Hz Output” to automatic.</li><li>Return to the main settings menu and select “Saved Data and Game/App Settings.”</li><li>Toggle “Game Presets” to “Performance Mode.”</li><li>Install the latest update of <i>Call of Duty Warzone</i>.</li><li>Enjoy playing <i>Warzone </i>in 120FPS on the PS5.</li></ol><p>Now, we’ll just have to wait for the native PS5 version of the game to enjoy it on 120FPS in Resolution Mode.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Warzone now has 120FPS on PS5, months after Xbox Series X

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image_2021-06-18_111137.png"></figure><h1>Zion Williamson trade drama is what’s wrong with player empowerment era</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T20:12:54-07:00">June 17th, 8:12pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T20:39:55-07:00">June 17th, 8:39pm</time><address><a href="https://medium.com/@rpsalao">R.P. Salao</a>Check out my best stuff on Medium - medium.com/@rpsalao.I also post quality NBA YouTube content - tinyurl.com/SalaoYouTube.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The latest bombshell to drop surrounding a disgruntled NBA star just struck the New Orleans Pelicans. Their generational superstar Zion Williamson may not have asked out just yet, but based on the rumors, voices around him are starting to get louder about calling out the team’s dysfunction.</p><p>The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Joe Vardon, and William Guillory <a href="https://theathletic.com/2656520/2021/06/17/inside-the-end-of-stan-van-gundy-with-the-pelicans-and-an-ongoing-battle-to-keep-zion-williamson-happy/">reported on</a> the worsening situation between Zion Williamson’s camp and the Pelicans franchise.</p><blockquote>Parting ways with Stan Van Gundy after just one season is not the biggest problem facing the New Orleans Pelicans. They have been unable to put together the right elements to make rising star Zion Williamson and his family happy, and multiple sources have told <i>The Athletic</i> that certain family members want Williamson on another team.</blockquote><p>New Orleans had just parted ways with their coach of one year in Stan Van Gundy, who was reportedly a key source of frustration not just from Williamson, but for other key players such as Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart. Zion Williamson’s family members apparently also were growing tired of SVG.</p><blockquote>Williamson family members voiced displeasure with the organization. Among the targets of their criticism was Van Gundy, who they felt was too rigid and demanding as head coach, but also with the organization, which they claim did not live up to what they felt should be the standard for a star like Williamson. Numerous opposing league executives had heard the complaints, and they were confirmed by Pelicans officials.</blockquote><h2><b>The Zion Williamson Trade Dilemma</b></h2><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Pelicans-news-Zion-Williamson-has-honest-take-on-New-Orleans_-piling-losses-Thumbnail.jpg"></figure><p>Zion Williamson, his teammates, and the aforementioned family members all have legitimate gripes about the dreary situation in New Orleans. They can definitely voice their displeasure in an attempt to galvanize the front office into action to make sure their franchise player is happy.</p><p>But if we’re being blunt, has Zion Williamson even earned the right to legitimately ask out? Yes, there’s nothing at all indicating that the incoming third year star was directly hinting at a trade demand. However, there’s a reason that reports like these reach the ears of legitimate sources like Charania. Someone clearly wants this noise out in the public, with some palpable intentions in mind, whether it be some overbearing relative or maybe a mouthpiece for Williamson himself.</p><p>It’s not unfounded for stars to brew up some trade rumors. Prior to the report on Zion Williamson, we had a ton of buzz about the unfolding situation with Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic. Before that, we were hearing Portland Trail Blazers icon Damian Lillard’s name floated in trade scenarios and his posts being read like tea leaves.</p><p>But Zion Williamson has barely played in one full NBA season. In his <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/willizi01.html">rookie year</a>, the forward suited up in just 24 contests due to his own inability to stay healthy. That 2019-20 Pelicans squad got an All-Star season from Brandon Ingram and had Jrue Holiday playing like another while he was still on the roster. It was Williamson who was absent from the squad as they tried to chase a playoff spot.</p><p>Then the Pelicans traded away Holiday to invest in the future, with their young stars Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram in mind. Holiday is definitely a talented player, but the number of draft assets they were able to receive for future use was tough to pass up. While New Orleans fell short of expectations this season, that’s hardly a new phenomenon for young squads trying to find their footing.</p><p>In these 2021 NBA playoffs alone, we’re seeing a handful of teams reaping the fruits of their labor after years in the cellar. The Phoenix Suns are <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/5-reasons-the-suns-should-be-the-new-nba-title-favorite-after-sweeping-nuggets/">arguably the biggest story</a> in the playoffs right now, and it took all of six seasons for Devin Booker to be given the supporting cast he needed to succeed. Now he could potentially be an NBA champion in a matter of weeks.</p><p>The Utah Jazz have used their draft picks from scattered seasons before finding the right pieces to build around. We all know how long #TheProcess took to form as the Philadelphia 76ers went through one of the most infamous rebuild jobs. These things take time.</p><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Bron-1.jpg"><figcaption>CP</figcaption></figure><p>And if we’re going by generational talents, LeBron James didn’t make the postseason in his first two years either. He proved that he could carry an immense load on his broad shoulders for years before asking out during The Decision, the moment that served as the player empowerment era’s big bang. Yes, maybe asking out immediately could have led to earlier success. But LeBron James will be the first to tell you how important those early bumps in the road were.</p><p>At the end of the day, Zion Williamson and his camp could demand whatever they want. That’s the beauty of the player empowerment era. The players who sacrifice their lives for this game that we love can decide for themselves how they want to dictate their career within the bounds of league rules. But if a player who has barely played a full season starts asking out, then it might set a worrisome precedent where more and more stars express frustration prematurely and ruin a chance to create something special in exchange for instant gratification. Losing out on slow grind success stories like Devin Booker and Donovan Mitchell, whose downs made their ups feel that much sweeter, can’t possibly be good for the league.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Zion Williamson trade drama is what’s wrong with player empowerment era

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Luka-Doncic-Mavericks-Knicks-Jay-Williams.jpg"></figure><h1>Luka Doncic joining Knicks just became more feasible, per ESPN analyst</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T19:54:24-07:00">June 17th, 7:54pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T19:54:24-07:00">June 17th, 7:54pm</time><address><a>Paolo Mariano</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/dallas-mavericks">Dallas Mavericks</a> superstar <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/luka-doncic/b74d0a0c">Luka Doncic</a> recently hinted that he’s going to stay with the squad and sign a maximum extension.</p><p>Doncic leaving the Mavericks in the offseason sounds as outrageous as Dirk Nowitzki’s singing voice, but for ESPN analyst Jay Williams, it has become more probable. Williams on Thursday even upped the ante and said Doncic could join the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/new-york-knicks">New York Knicks</a>.  (via <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/06/17/jay-williams-thinks-luka-doncic-and-the-knicks-could-work/">New York Post</a>).</p><blockquote>“Earlier in the year, I said New York could be a potential opportunity (for Luka) and people killed me for it. It’s feasible.”</blockquote><p>Hold on to your towel, Spike Lee.</p><p>Williams cited the recent exit of Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson as a possible factor in Doncic’s eventual decision to leave. After all, it was Nelson who first saw potential in the do-it-all guard from Slovenia.</p><blockquote>“There are feasible scenarios, where you start looking at, where will Luka want to go and build if it doesn’t work out in Dallas. (But) New York isn’t the only option. But I will say there’s a lot of rumblings, and (Mavericks owner) Mark Cuban needs to put water on that fire.”</blockquote><p>Then there’s also the resignation of Rick Carlisle as Mavericks coach. Could this sway Doncic even more to pack his bags?</p><p>Doncic’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/luka-doncic/b74d0a0c/stats">ascent in the NBA</a> isn’t slowing down anytime soon, he continues to be one of the most unique talents in the past few decades. His charisma and marketability would be perfect for a big team like the Knicks, who had a resurgence this season after years of absolute putridness.</p><p>But as for the possibility of it happening? Well, that’s an entirely different thing for Luka Doncic.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Luka Doncic joining Knicks just became more feasible, per ESPN analyst

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/pokemon-unite-releasing-on-mobile-devices-this-september.jpg"><figcaption>The Pokemon Company</figcaption></figure><h1>Pokemon UNITE releasing on mobile devices this September</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T19:51:25-07:00">June 17th, 7:51pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T19:51:25-07:00">June 17th, 7:51pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NeutralGGEsports" rel="facebook">Franz Christian Irorita</a>A writer and content creator, focusing on video games.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Gaming</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><i>Pokemon UNITE </i>is The Pokemon Company’s unique take on the MOBA genre. While the Nintendo Switch version has been <a href="https://unite.pokemon.com/en-us/">confirmed to arrive this <b>July 2021</b></a>, the mobile versions on <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.pokemon.pokemonunite&amp;hl=en&amp;gl=US">Android</a> and iOS have just recently been confirmed for <b><a href="https://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/2021/new-information-revealed-for-pokemon-unite/">September 2021</a></b>.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>The Pokemon Company calls the game a “strategic team battle game.” It pits two teams of five players each. Each player brings a Pokemon with them to battle, which can even evolve temporarily in the middle of the game. While most MOBAs goal is to destroy the enemy base, in <i>Pokemon UNITE</i>, teams earn points to win. To earn points, players will have to defeat the other Pokemon in the game, collecting the Aeos energy fallen Pokemon drop. Then, the player will have their Pokemon DUNK the Aeos energy they collected in the opponent’s goal zones, which conveniently look like basketball hoops.</p><p>The game, to be honest, looks pretty great in terms of graphics and gameplay. It does not simply plaster the Pokemon brand on a MOBA game with the exact same gameplay as other MOBAs made by Tencent such as <i>Arena of Valor</i>. No, <i>Pokemon UNITE </i>has a unique take on the MOBA genre, bringing in new things that actually progress the genre.</p><p>Nintendo <a href="https://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/2021/new-information-revealed-for-pokemon-unite/">also confirmed</a> that the game will feature a Battle Pass upon launch, offering cosmetics for the players’ trainer avatars. The game will be free-to-start, which might possibly mean a level cap will constrain free-to-play gamers. Learn more about <i>Pokemon UNITE </i>on its <a href="https://unite.pokemon.com/en-us/">official website</a>.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pokemon UNITE releasing on mobile devices this September

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blazers-news-damian-lillards-true-reason-for-playing-with-team-usa-in-tokyo-olympics.jpg"><figcaption>June 17, 2021</figcaption></figure><h1>Damian Lillard’s true reason for playing with Team USA in Tokyo Olympics</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T19:36:43-07:00">June 17th, 7:36pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T19:36:43-07:00">June 17th, 7:36pm</time><address><a>Dijo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/portland-trail-blazers">Portland Trail Blazers</a> superstar Damian Lillard is spearheading the attack for Team USA in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. A few days after the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-damian-lillard-draymond-green-commit-to-team-usa-for-tokyo-olympics/">announcement</a> made Lillard’s commitment official, the 30-year-old admitted the main reason why he decided to join Team USA and not sit this one out unlike other superstars in the league like LeBron James and Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers.</p><blockquote>“Pop being the coach of the national team played a big role in my decision to commit,” Lillard said (via <a href="https://www.columbian.com/news/2021/jun/17/lillard-explains-reasons-for-deciding-to-play-in-olympics/">Columbian.com</a>). “I have a lot of respect for Pop as a coach and as a person. I look forward to playing for him, taking in his basketball knowledge and seeing what our team can do.”</blockquote><p>As a lot of you may know, the iconic Gregg Popovich is throwing his hat in the ring once again as the country’s Olympic head coach. The last time Pop was tasked to call the shots for the Olympics was back in 2004 where Team USA finished fourth.</p><p>Pop’s last stint with the national basketball team though was in 2019 in the FIBA Basketball World Cup where a young team led by Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics and Donovan Mitchell of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/utah-jazz">Utah Jazz</a> fell all the way to the seventh spot at the end of the competition.</p><p>With the likes of Lillard, Tatum, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/golden-state-warriors">Golden State Warriors</a>’ court general in Draymond Green, look for this new-look Team USA to dominate the world stage and repeat their gold medal finish in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Damian Lillard’s true reason for playing with Team USA in Tokyo Olympics

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/LeBron-James-Lakers-Jae-Crowder-Suns.jpg"></figure><h1>LeBron James irritant Jae Crowder absolutely goes off on Lakers superstar</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T19:28:42-07:00">June 17th, 7:28pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T19:28:42-07:00">June 17th, 7:28pm</time><address><a>Paolo Mariano</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has faced many antagonizers in the past. But it seems the latest one is Phoenix Suns forward Jae Crowder.</p><p>Crowder fired shots at LeBron after the Suns eliminated the Lakers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. In arguably his best shade, the Suns banger mocked The King by salsa dancing in Game 6, seemingly paying “homage” to LeBron’s latest commercial.</p><p>Last Tuesday, appearing on ESPN’s Jalen &amp; Jacoby, Crowder explained his mental warfare with the four-time NBA MVP. He, however, admitted he had to bide his time (via <a href="https://heavy.com/sports/los-angeles-lakers/jae-crowder-lebron-troll/?fbclid=IwAR0VgXnzcU4lKJeS4oRdaCpXZM6AG-nePIoSoFip3HK4ek-Hogt2wzdaIwA">Heavy</a>).</p><blockquote>“They tried to clown us during Game 3. I don’t know if ya’ll saw that. I told myself once we get this thing done, I got a few moves in my bag for them. That’s what I was thinking. I couldn’t dance Game 3, I had to wait till Game 6 when we got the job done a little bit.”</blockquote><p>Crowder and LeBron sure have a history. They battled in the NBA Finals last year when Crowder was still with the Miami Heat. They were also <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/jae-crowder/ba9b0a07/stats">once teammates with the Cleveland Cavaliers</a>. They, however, didn’t spend much time together, and maybe that’s why the 30-year-old Crowder isn’t too friendly with LBJ. But still, he tipped his hat to LeBron.</p><blockquote>“Obviously, LeBron is a great player. He’s the greatest player in our league right now. I wanted to get him frustrated a little bit and hopefully, things would go our way. I think that’s what happened.”</blockquote><p>Maybe when the season’s over, LeBron James and Jae Crowder can go salsa dancing together. No? OK.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

LeBron James irritant Jae Crowder absolutely goes off on Lakers superstar

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/valorants-new-agent-is-kay-o-the-abilities-jamming-robot.jpg"><figcaption>Riot Games</figcaption></figure><h1>VALORANT’s new Agent is KAY/O, the abilities-jamming robot</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T19:18:45-07:00">June 17th, 7:18pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T19:26:51-07:00">June 17th, 7:26pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NeutralGGEsports" rel="facebook">Franz Christian Irorita</a>A writer and content creator, focusing on video games.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Gaming</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The new <i>VALORANT </i>agent is named KAY/O, a robot that has some interesting powers. Nullifying powers, in fact. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/riot-teases-new-valorant-agent-grenadier/">We’ve discussed the new agent before</a>, in fact, and nailed it on the head on the suppression powers. But a robot? That’s no grenadier. Read on to know more about the latest agent in the game, the abilities-jamming robot, KAY/O.</p><h2><b>KAY/O’s official <i>VALORANT </i>Reveal Trailer</b></h2><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>KAY/O’s the type of agent who min/maxes their games. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU1l7eBy2_Y">From the trailer</a>, we see the head of KAY/O simulating <i>VALORANT </i>games over and over again. For each time KAY/O dies in the simulation, the simulation repeats. Then, KAY/O tries something else, with hopes of surviving longer this time, with the ultimate goal of winning and surviving. Guess what that basically is? That’s machine learning, ladies and gentlemen. The new <i>VALORANT </i>agent coming out of Episode 3 Act 1 is a literal AI machine learning robot.</p><p>Thankfully, the people we play against in <i>VALORANT </i>don’t learn from their mistakes the same way KAY/O does. If they do, then there’s no hope for us Platinum players to ever reach Radiant. As KAY/O says, “It’s time to kill Radiants,” and if the robot gets its way, then we’re all screwed.</p><h2><b>KAY/O Abilities Breakdown</b></h2><p>KAY/O has a very interesting skill set. Instead of using skills to eliminate opponents, KAY/O uses a jammer to disable the abilities and gadgets of others. KAY/O’s unique “suppression” mechanic will render enemy specialties useless, boiling down battles to the basics. It’s shoot or be shot, gadgets and abilities be damned. From this, we learn that KAY/O <i>must </i>be fun at parties.</p><p><b>E – ZERO/point</b>: KAY/O throws a suppression blade that sticks on the first surface it hits. It winds up and disables the abilities of any agent caught in its effect radius.</p><p><b>Q – FLASH/drive</b>: KAY/O throws a flash grenade that blinds enemies. KAY/O has better control over the flash grenade’s cooking time than anyone else in <i>VALORANT</i>.</p><p><b>C – FRAG/ment</b>: KAY/O throws a sticky explosive that sticks on the first floor it hits. It explodes multiple times, dealing near-lethal damage at the center of the explosion.</p><p><b>Ultimate – NULL/cmd</b>: KAY/O goes berserk, or overload, or overdrive, or overclocked. KAY/O starts emitting large enemy pulses that suppress enemies it hit, and the robot deals more damage while active. When the robot gets downed while the Ultimate is activated, allied agents will get a chance to revive KAY/O by stabilizing its core.</p><p>KAY/O comes out along with Episode 3 Act 1 on <b>June 22, 2021</b>. The new Act will arrive with a new Battle Pass, as usual, and will still cost 1,000 VP.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

VALORANT’s new Agent is KAY/O, the abilities-jamming robot

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/kawhi-leonard-giannis-antetokounmpo-bucks-clippers-raptors.jpeg"></figure><h1>Clippers star Kawhi Leonard’s cold 6-word message in 2019 comeback vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo, revealed</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T19:06:46-07:00">June 17th, 7:06pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T19:08:01-07:00">June 17th, 7:08pm</time><address><a>Arlos Sara</a>Arlos Sara graduated with a degree in Psychology. He is an NBA writer and editor for ClutchPoints and Cavs Nation. Back in the day, while other kids were consumed by their toys and comic books, young Arlos was already thumbing through the pages of sports magazines.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/milwaukee-bucks">Milwaukee Bucks</a> superstar <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/giannis-antetokounmpo/ac1b0975">Giannis Antetokounmpo</a> may take pointers from the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/los-angeles-clippers">Los Angeles Clippers</a>‘ <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/kawhi-leonard/af27097c">Kawhi Leonard</a> when it comes to rallying a team from a significant series deficit.</p><p>In 2019, when Leonard was still playing for the Toronto Raptors, his squad found themselves in an 0-2 hole against Giannis and the Bucks. Milwaukee was the league’s best regular-season team at the time while Leonard was only in his first and only year with Toronto.</p><p>Those circumstances weren’t enough to derail Leonard’s confidence, though. Appearing in an episode of the “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGdpIPpBu-Q">All The Smoke</a>” podcast, Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy, who was on the Raptors’ bench in 2019, recalled a moment where Leonard’s voice turned out to be the series-altering factor.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Nick Nurse: We'll make some adjustments in Toronto<br>Kawhi: Coach, I AM in the adjustment 😤</p><p>Phil Handy went on 'All The Smoke' and detailed a locker room exchange after Game 2 vs. Milwaukee in 2019 <a href="https://t.co/KkXg0xnfwd" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/KkXg0xnfwd</a></p><p>— Yahoo Sports Canada (@YahooCASports) <a href="https://twitter.com/YahooCASports/status/1405626766547423239?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 17, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Kawhi Leonard is a man of few words. He lets his play do all the talking. So when he decided to take it upon himself to stop Antetokounmpo, who was also the MVP at the time, one can only imagine the effect it had on his Raptors teammates. Those six words from the Klaw eventually led to an NBA title for Toronto.</p><p>Leonard, as of this writing, is deemed unlikely to play in the Clippers’ remaining games against the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals due to an ACL injury. They’ll rely heavily on Paul George and his Playoff P persona to reach the next stage where Leonard could see the court again.</p><p>It’s difficult for Leonard to be relegated to the background in this type of situation. But with the Clippers’ roster being depleted, the team could use a few extra words from the fun guy.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard’s cold 6-word message in 2019 comeback vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo, revealed

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/lakers-news-kobe-bryants-epic-response-when-los-angeles-coach-called-him-an-a-hole.jpg"></figure><h1>Kobe Bryant’s NSFW response when Lakers coach called him an ‘a–hole’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T18:57:06-07:00">June 17th, 6:57pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T19:08:18-07:00">June 17th, 7:08pm</time><address><a>Paolo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was not exactly the most pleasant <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-kobe-bryant-two-sides-as-a-teammate-per-pau-gasol/">teammate</a> in the NBA. The Black Mamba had a reputation of riding his teammates hard, which sometimes has the tendency of being misinterpreted of Kobe just being an a–hole.</p><p>Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy recently guested on Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson’s <a href="https://twitter.com/ImJust_JP/status/1405684476756172801"><i>All The Smoke </i></a>podcast, and the long-time LA coach tried to shed some light as to why Kobe was the way he was:</p><blockquote>“His realness, man,” Handy responded when asked what he remembers the most about Kobe Bryant. “He was misunderstood. I asked him one time, ‘Why you such an a–hole?’ I asked him that. And he said, ‘You really wanna know? Some of my teammates don’t understand the work. I see dudes walking into practice 10 minutes before practice and they leave right after. Why the f–k am I going to pass them the basketball? I don’t respect their work ethic.</blockquote><p>Handy did not end there. He went on to share how Kobe took this lack of passion as an insult:</p><blockquote>“I’m in here busting my ass everyday trying to perfect my craft and these dudes don’t want to work on their game. I don’t trust them. So I’m not going to pass them the basketball. I’m gonna ride them hard everyday,” Kobe said, per Handy.</blockquote><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy told a classic story about Kobe’s “realness” on All The Smoke 🐍 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MambaMentality?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">#MambaMentality</a> </p><p>(🎥: <a href="https://twitter.com/Matt_Barnes22?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@Matt_Barnes22</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/94feetofgame?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@94FeetOfGame</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/shobasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@ShoBasketball</a>) <a href="https://t.co/pbrb8Uo5nQ" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/pbrb8Uo5nQ</a></p><p>— Justin Perry aka JP (@ImJust_JP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImJust_JP/status/1405684476756172801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 18, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>I see no lies here. Kobe Bryant made it no secret as well. When he did not like how you carried yourself on the basketball court, Bryant made sure to let it be known. The Lakers legend did not shy away from confrontation and he wasn’t afraid of creating conflict. That’s just who he was ane we love him for it.</p><p>Kobe’s no-nonsense attitude did not sit well with everyone. He had numerous spats with former teammates, and most of them were well-documented. In the end, however, we all now understand that this was all brought about by Bryant’s incessant desire to win at all costs.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kobe Bryant’s NSFW response when Lakers coach called him an ‘a–hole’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/LeBron-James-promises-_vengeance_-after-shocking-playoffs-exit.jpeg"></figure><h1>3 changes the Lakers must make this offseason to keep LeBron James happy</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T05:01:28-07:00">June 17th, 5:01am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T05:01:58-07:00">June 17th, 5:01am</time><address><a>Virgil Villanueva</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has two left years in his contract. It wouldn’t be surprising if he calls it quits after this. Fan or not, the end of a baller’s legendary career will bring tears to anyone’s eyes. For the Lakers front office, this is not the time to be emotional. The only right thing to do this offseason is to make sure James is equipped with the right players. The free agency and trade market picture will take time to fully unravel. But from inside, it’s already clear who the Lakers need to boot out of their squad.</p><p>The Lakers still have a good chance to win at least one title before James retires. Rob Pelinka may his game plan ready for the offseason. But just for the sake of it, here are the 3 changes the Lakers must make this offseason to keep LeBron James happy.</p><p><b>Trade Kuzma</b></p><p>Kyle Kuzma surprised everyone with his stellar rookie campaign in 2017. He came in as the 27th overall pick but basically outperformed Lonzo Ball, the Lakers’ second pick. When LeBron James arrived, he seemed the perfect fit for the legend. Kuzma had a scoring mentality within him. It was amazing to see him make great reads on offense with James on the floor. We can say that Lakers fans witnessed a peak Kuzma during their title run last year. Yes, we saw a decline in his numbers. But overall, he was a reliable scoring option behind the star duo of LeBron and Anthony Davis.</p><p>But in the 2020-21 NBA season, there was clearly something amiss about Kuzma. He averaged a career-low 12.9 points in the regular season. In the playoffs, Kuzma made matters worse by averaging just 6.3 points. This was the time when the Lakers’ needed him the most given Davis’ injury. Yet there he was, not stepping up on offense. Embedded in the minds of Lakers fans are the plethora of Kuzma’s missteps and errors. All of them want Kuzma out.</p><p><b>Get a Third Star or a Decent Set of Role Players</b></p><p>Guard Dennis Schroder could be considered the third star of the team. However, it was evident that he didn’t seem to complement James and Davis well. Add the fact that he rejected the four-year, $84 million contract extension in March. He clearly wants to get paid. But Rob Pelinka must be scratching his head right now if Schroder is worth a heftier deal.</p><p>The right move now is to just move away from Schroder and hunt for big fish — be it in the form of a star player or a set of veteran role players. Damian Lillard, provided he requests a trade, maybe the biggest fish out there. But given his massive contract, the Lakers might have to give up key pieces from their roster, particularly Alex Caruso or Talen Horton-Tucker (a matter that will be discussed later). And that’s not really the<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jazz-news-damian-lillard-blasts-donovan-mitchell-for-game-5-outfit/" rel="noopener"> most ideal scenario.</a> The same goes for Bradley Beal who’s been in the rumor mill all season long.</p><p>Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum may be a more feasible trade target. He’s one heck of a potent scorer who could either create his own shots or patiently wait for the catch-and-shoot. A package will likely include Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Kyle Kuzma as they are the most tradeable players right now. The Lakers will be well over the luxury tax but they understand that this is a necessity to be able to win.</p><p>However, the Lakers can avoid burning a hole through their wallet by getting DeMar DeRozan who’s going to be an unrestricted free agent. The man is turning 32-years-old and he himself does not expect to receive any more lucrative deals other than a mid-level exception. His lack of a stroke from downtown may be a cause of concern. However, the other aspects of his game — his perfection of the perimeter shot, improved passing game, and overall experience — will make up for everything.</p><p>In terms of role players, Lakers fans should keep their eyes on Buddy Hield, Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Covington. The Lakers can probably get two of the three. Safe to say that all of these three players can perfectly complement James and Davis. Except for Hield, the two guys are excellent defenders. Brogdon has been working on his stroke from deep, too. All in all, three-and-D players and pretty much key fixtures in James’ championship teams. And these players fit the bill.</p><p><b>Keep Caruso and THT</b></p><p>In their quest for a third star of a decent set of role players, the Lakers might inevitably give up either Alex Caruso or Talen Horton-Tucker. The two guards have performed extremely well for the Lakers for the past season or two. Much has been said about Caruso’s high basketball IQ. Horton-Tucker, too, has shown off his scoring prowess as a member of the Lakers’ second unit. Unfortunately, other teams have been eyeing them as well. These two players will likely be inserted into a trade package headlined by Kuzma or KCP.</p><p>It’s likely that THT will be the one to go given his inexperience. Apart from this, the details of his contract can get a bit awry for the Lakers as he fits in the Gilbert Arenas Provision” that was added to the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2005. Eric Pincus discusses the matter clearly in his <a href="https://youtu.be/YdCOrUGdgg8">video</a>.</p><p>It would be best to check out the video to get a clear understanding of the technicalities of the THT situation. But the short version is this: the first and second year of his new deal is pretty manageable. The first year cannot exceed the non-taxpayer and mid-level exception while the second has a five five percent increase.</p><p>However, after the first two years, THT would have some experience by then. And by this provision (and of course, provided that he performs well), he could be eligible for up to $82 million overall. The Lakers, who are well-above the cap, can choose to pay up the luxury tax. However, LeBron James’ contract will expire right as THT’s contract jumps. This would basically mean that the Lakers will lose the ability to lure another big-name free agent. One could argue that they could just press the reset button and rebuild. But this is not what the Lakers are all about. Once they do this, then they might see Anthony Davis walk.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

3 changes the Lakers must make this offseason to keep LeBron James happy

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/jazz-news-donovan-mitchells-nsfw-comments-after-game-5-loss-to-paul-george-clippers.jpg"></figure><h1>Jazz star Donovan Mitchell’s NSFW comments on Game 5 loss to Paul George, Clippers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T06:41:34-07:00">June 17th, 6:41am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T06:42:24-07:00">June 17th, 6:42am</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Donovan Mitchell was not a happy camper after his Utah Jazz fell to Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 5, 119-111. The Jazz now trail the series after initially leading 2-0 and face their first elimination game of the postseason Friday night in Los Angeles for Game 6.</p><p>The biggest takeaway of the night is that, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-suffers-sprained-acl-vs-jazz/" rel="noopener">despite being down</a> superstar Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers were able to come into Utah and steal Game 5, setting themselves up to advance with one more win back home.</p><p>“It’s disappointing,” <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1405505504693014530" rel="noopener">Donovan Mitchell admitted</a> after the game. “I think, for us, understanding that this was a winnable game for us. Outside of Paul having a great night and a few other guys doing well, but I think disappointed. But understanding that we can’t really sit here and sulk. The series is not over. We got a lot of life left to give and a lot of juice to give and we just got to go out there and play with a level of desperation that we have never played with before, otherwise we’ll be home.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"It's disappointing. I think, for us, understanding that this was a winnable game for us… But understanding that we can't really sit here and sulk. The series is not over. We got a lot of life left to give and a lot of juice to give.”</p><p>Donovan Mitchell after Jazz lose Game 5. <a href="https://t.co/uHC4sWycI8" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/uHC4sWycI8</a></p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1405505504693014530?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 17, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>The Jazz came out scorching offensively, knocking down 10-of-15 3-pointers in the opening quarter and 17 3s in the first half, easily on pace to break the NBA’s record of 25 made 3-pointers in a game, set by the Cleveland Cavaliers a few years back.</p><p>There were two ways to look at the Jazz’s five-point halftime lead: Either the Clippers were hanging around despite so many 3s, which was a good sign for LA, or the Jazz held a five-point lead despite only nine first-half points from Mitchell.</p><p>Utah’s shooting came to a rapid halt in the second half, where the team shot 3-of-19 from beyond the arc. The Clippers, who have had their struggles in third quarters this postseason, outscored the Jazz 32-18, taking a lead they would not relinquish into the fourth quarter.</p><p>Donovan Mitchell finished the game with only 21 points on 6-of-19 shooting from the field and 4-of-14 from beyond the arc. He’d been dealing with the ankle injury over the last few games, but his mobility was visibly tested throughout Game 5.</p><p>“I’m figuring it out,” <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1405506202830741516" rel="noopener">Mitchell said</a>. “For most of my life I’ve been able to push by, explode by, and jump through people or over people, and for the first time in my career, I’ve had to play on the floor. So being able to not to just, knowing when to attack, picking my spots, finding my teammates, I think that’s the biggest thing, being able to kind of get off, hit them when they’re doubling me and engaging the blitz. And I think I did a solid job of that, I can do better, it’s a learning process and it sucks that I’m learning this through the playoffs, but it is what it is and no excuses. So just being able to kind of bait the blitz, know when to attack and just kind of slow down a little bit, I think that’s what I’ve been doing throughout the entire playoffs because obviously can’t really move.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I'm figuring it out. For most of my life, I've been able to push by, explode by, and jump through people or over people, and for the first time in my career, I've had to play on the floor.”</p><p>Donovan Mitchell, who ends by saying he ‘can't really move’ out there right now. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jazz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">#Jazz</a> <a href="https://t.co/2FWcypmdso" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/2FWcypmdso</a></p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1405506202830741516?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 17, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Meanwhile, Paul George dropped his third consecutive game of at least 30 points for the Clippers, including a monster 37/16/5 effort in the pivotal Game 5.</p><p>Unfortunately for both the Jazz and Donovan Mitchell, their time to figure it out is almost up while it appears the Clippers have figured them out. They’ve lost three consecutive games to the Clippers by a total of 48 points after winning the first two games of the series by a combined nine points.</p><p>Mitchell’s health has been at the forefront of the Jazz’s struggles so far in this series, with the Clippers throwing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George at him in between random double-teams and blitzes off pick-and-rolls.</p><p>Over the last two games, 29 of Mitchell’s 45 shot attempts have been 3-pointers. He made 10 of those shots, but it’s a volume that clearly shows the explosive guard isn’t getting to the paint or basket as he usually does.</p><p>“It’s something I’m going to have to deal with,” <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1405506988138586115" rel="noopener">Donovan Mitchell added</a>. “I mean, it f**king sucks. I ain’t got nothing else to say. Like it’s tough when you’re trying different things that you normally do and you see spots you can get to, but you can’t, so you got to find a way to make it happen. It’s tough, but I got to find a way, otherwise I’m going to be home. And I said it last year, that we didn’t do all this — and I said during the year — we didn’t do all this to lose in the second round, so we got to figure it the f**k out, otherwise, that’s it. Excuse my language.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"It's something I'm going to have to deal with. It fucking sucks. I ain't got nothing else to say. It's tough, but I got to find a way, otherwise I'm going to be home… We didn't do all this to lose in the 2nd round, so we got to figure it the fuck out.”</p><p>– Donovan Mitchell <a href="https://t.co/MBXoIKIT9q" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/MBXoIKIT9q</a></p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1405506988138586115?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 17, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Paul George and the Clippers return home for Friday’s game, where Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz are hoping they can get back in the series and force a deciding Game 7 in Utah on Sunday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jazz star Donovan Mitchell’s NSFW comments on Game 5 loss to Paul George, Clippers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/bucks-news-kevin-durants-kyrptonite-is-in-milwaukee-per-giannis-antetokounmpo.jpg"></figure><h1>Nets vs. Bucks Game 6 Live Updates: News, Odds, &amp; More</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T15:16:59-07:00">June 17th, 3:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T17:08:03-07:00">June 17th, 5:08pm</time><address><a>Dillon Reagan</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Live Blogs</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Brooklyn Nets look to close out their hotly contested second-round series against a Milwaukee Bucks team determined to defend their home court and force a Game 7. Follow Nets Bucks Game 6 live here with news, updates, betting odds, and more as the game progresses.</p><h2>How To Watch</h2><p><b>Tip-off:</b> Thursday, June 17th at 8:30 p.m. ET</p><p><b>TV:</b> TNT</p><h2><b>NBA Odds: Nets-Bucks Game 6 Odds</b></h2><p>Brooklyn Nets +5.5 (-116)</p><p>Milwaukee Bucks -5.5 (-104)</p><p>Over 220 Points (-109)</p><p>Under 220 Points (-111)</p><h2><b>Nets Bucks Game 6 Live Updates</b></h2><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nets vs. Bucks Game 6 Live Updates: News, Odds, & More

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Nets-vs.-Bucks-Game-6-prediction-odds-pick-and-more.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA Playoffs odds: Nets vs. Bucks Game 6 prediction, odds, pick, and more</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-17T12:33:25-07:00">June 17th, 12:33pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-17T12:34:52-07:00">June 17th, 12:34pm</time><address><a>Noam Bernstein</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Betting</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Brooklyn Nets make their way back to Wisconsin hoping to clinch an Eastern Conference Finals appearance and end their series against the Milwaukee Bucks. It’s time to continue our <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2021-nba-championship-odds/" rel="noopener">NBA Playoffs odds series</a> and make a Nets-Bucks prediction and pick for Game 6.</p><p>The Bucks hold an overall record of 6-3 in the postseason but are only 4-5 against the spread. Milwaukee is undefeated on its home floor in the playoffs.</p><p>The Nets stand at 7-3 overall in the postseason and are 8-2 against the spread. Brooklyn is just 1-3 on the road so far in the playoffs.</p><p>Here’s how <a href="https://www.betonline.ag/sportsbook/basketball/nba" rel="noopener">sportsbooks</a> have set the Nets-Bucks odds for Game 6.</p><h2><b>NBA Odds: Nets-Bucks Game 6 Odds</b></h2><p>Brooklyn Nets +5.5 (-116)</p><p>Milwaukee Bucks -5.5 (-104)</p><p>Over 220 Points (-109)</p><p>Under 220 Points (-111)</p><h2><b>Why The Nets Could Cover The Spread</b></h2><p>After stealing Game 5 in Brooklyn, the Nets have kept the pressure off their backs for now. They bought an extra game of rest for Kyrie Irving, who remains sidelined, and have put the spotlight and expectations firmly back on the Bucks to defend their home floor.</p><p>There were three main takeaways from Game 5 that should give Nets bettors confidence going forward.</p><p>For one, the Bucks don’t have anyone who’s stopping Kevin Durant. There might not be anyone in the world who’s stopping KD at this point. Durant is averaging 33.1 points on 52.3% shooting from the field and 42.9% from 3 this postseason.</p><p>Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer refuses to match up Giannis Antetokounmpo with KD, perhaps in fear of his star wasting too much energy on defense or racking up quick fouls, which Giannis has struggled with in the last two games.</p><p>Whatever the case, P.J. Tucker is not clamping Durant for 48 minutes. Durant will get his points.</p><p>Secondly, James Harden is expected to play once again. He was not good in Game 5, scoring 5 points on 1-10 shooting. The silver lining here is that Harden couldn’t possibly be worse, and the Nets <i>still</i> won.</p><p>The Beard looked tentative going to the rack in his first game back. Expect him to lower his head and get to the rim at least a little more with his return game under his belt.</p><p>Lastly, the Nets have been wreaking havoc defensively on the Bucks. Amazingly, the Bucks haven’t broken 107 points in the series. For perspective, the Celtics managed to average 112.2 points per game in their series, and Milwaukee averaged 120.1 points per game in the regular season, most in the league.</p><p>The Bucks have yet to develop any offensive changes to their game, and the Nets are eating them alive. The strategy of “throw the ball to Giannis and see what happens” might work in the regular season, but it’s not going to cut it here. It’d be a surprise to see the Bucks score more than 110 points in Game 6, giving the Nets a great shot to steal this game.</p><h2><b>Why The Bucks Could Cover The Spread</b></h2><p>With their season on the line, Milwaukee should come out motivated and ready to make a statement.</p><p>The Bucks should waste no time in running up a lead as they did in Game 5, and I expect Milwaukee to lead at half. The biggest problem for Giannis and company is holding that lead. The Nets have outscored or matched the Bucks in the second half in three out of five games so far.</p><p>This time around, Milwaukee has the advantage of a home crowd The Bucks have clearly played better ball at Fiserv Forum and have done a better job of preventing late runs. They are 1-0-1 on their second half moneyline so far in the series when at home, as opposed to 0-3 on the road.</p><p>Additionally, the Nets have to be running out of gas. Kevin Durant played all 48 minutes in his epic Game 5, and three other players played 36-plus minutes. One of those players was James Harden, who played 46. In my previous betting preview, I predicted Nash would only play a banged-up Harden 25 minutes. Clearly, Nash saw Game 5 as a must-win affair and pushed his star to the limit.</p><p>All those minutes should take a toll on Durant and Harden, who still doesn’t look quite right. Without Irving on the floor and with Harden not at 100%, the Nets rely on Durant to rack up the numbers. He did it in Game 5, but what are the odds of a repeat performance after playing 48 minutes just two days ago?</p><p>Additionally, the Nets should take their foot off the gas a little bit. They have the Bucks exactly where they want them and would be more than happy to get all of their stars back and face Milwaukee in Game 7 on their home floor.</p><p>Brooklyn won’t roll over and die in this game, but Nash won’t burn out his stars in the desperate search for a win, and he could wave the white flag early if the Bucks run up a big lead.</p><h2><b>Final Nets-Bucks Game 6</b><b> </b><b>Prediction &amp; Pick</b></h2><p>To be honest, this series should probably be over already. Even without Harden, the Nets have looked much better than the Bucks in their victories, and Milwaukee was just dealt dealt a crushing blow in Game 5. Coach Budenholzer has not proven capable of making late-game adjustments to slow Kevin Durant, and the Nets have never looked like they’re out of the game until the final buzzer. Perhaps Milwaukee forces a Game 7, but I expect Brooklyn to continue to make them sweat. I’ll take Brooklyn with the points here, and I’d get my Nets bets down for Game 7 immediately if Nash’s group ends up losing Game 6.</p><p>FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: MIL 112, BKN 110 (BROOKLYN NETS +5.5)</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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